The Real Radicals: 35% of the MTGOP Legislative Caucus are members of “Far-Right” Facebook Groups
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 20, 2022
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press@montanademocrats.org
The Real Radicals: 35% of the MTGOP Legislative Caucus are members of “Far-Right” Facebook Groups
Helena, MT – A recent report by the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) included a shocking statistic: 24 Members of the Montana state House and 10 members of the Montana state Senate– are members of at least one “far-right” group on Facebook. These numbers represent 35% of the Republican caucus.
IREHR defines “far-right” as groups advocating changes in the organizational structure of the state or public policies that would “significantly undermine political, social and/or economic equality along such lines as class, race, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, immigration status, and religion.” The “far-right” Facebook groups include militia and sovereign citizen groups, antisemitic conspiracy groups, militant COVID Denial groups, Stop the Steal groups, and more.
These numbers reflect the new political reality in Montana: the MTGOP are the new radicals, advocating for the whole-sale dissolution of democracy or working tirelessly to dismantle its frameworks.
Kalispell state Rep. John Fuller has openly declared “democracy is a methodology of government that has failed as miserably as socialism,” and argued that democracy is “tyranny.”
Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Matt Rosendale flamed the Jan 6th insurrection attempt by voting to throw out election results, and failed to condemn the violence, investigate and hold insurrectionists accountable.
Attorney General Austin Knudsen has promulgated the dangerous Big Lie conspiracy theory by platforming Pillow Guy Mike Lindell.
Rep. Derek Skees has made it very clear how little regard he has for the Montana state constitution, which he has deemed a “rag” and has threatened to “throw out.”
“The Montana GOP are radically out of step with Montanans. 36% of Republican state representatives, and 32% of Republican state senators are aligned with “far-right” groups online,” says Sheila Hogan, executive director of the Montana Democratic Party. “Democracy is not safe in the hands of the Montana Republicans.”
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