Georgian Senator Kelly Loeffler was criticized on Saturday and Sunday for posing for the former head of the JRC, less than a month before the state’s two run-down elections decided which party would control the U.S. Senate.
The picture shows Loeffler smiling next to ring-winged activist Chester Doles. He was reportedly featured on Doles’ social media on Saturday with the caption “Kelly Loeffler and I. Save America, Stop Socialism.”
Doles, who was the leader of the Ku Klux Klan, is a convicted criminal associated with several white supremacist groups, although he claims his current “American Patriots USA” group is free of racism.
“Doles almost beat a black man to death in 1993. He marched in Charlottesville in 2017,” Bend the Arc Jewish activist group wrote in a Saturday night tweet with a picture of Doles and Loeffler. “Kelly Loeffler is proud to attract this.”
ALARM: Kelly Loeffler was just posing for a photo with Chester Doles, a former head of the JRC who leads white supermacist American patriots.
In 1993, Doles almost beat a black man to death.
In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville.
Who is this @KLoeffler proudly attracts. pic.twitter.com/4YZcvL05rf
– Bend the arc: Jewish action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020
Miryam Lipper, communications director for Jon Ossoff, who went against Georgian Senator David Perdue, wrote “This is Georgia’s GOP” on twitter in response to the photo.
Political and sports commentator Keith Olbermann criticized Loeffler in a Sunday tweet, writing, “This should be a problem for the Kelly Loeffler campaign, but that’s hard to say now.”
“But it should be enough for the NBA and WNBA to oust him from partial ownership of the Atlanta team,” Olbermann continued. “Association with obvious racists is not allowed.”
This can be a problem for @KLoeffler campaign, but that’s hard to say right now.
But it should be enough a @NBA and @WNBA to oust him from partial ownership of the Atlanta team.
Associations with obvious racists are not allowed. Stand up, @WNBA. https://t.co/mkz1aJdGzn
– Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) December 13, 2020
In June, Loeffler, who owns 49% of The Atlanta Dream women’s basketball team, called the Atlanta black-armed protesters “mass domination” at Fox News. segment given up to the Georgian senator’s Twitter account, which resulted in the repercussions of several WNBA players.
After the WNBA announced that its 2020 season would be dedicated to social justice, Loeffler reportedly sent a letter to Cathy Engelbert, the WNBA commissioner, objecting to the league’s plan to honor the Black Lives Matter movement. Forbes.
In response, several WNBA players called for Loeffler to be removed and later protested the senator’s position when they wore “Vote Warnock” T-shirts before their game. Reverend Warnock is Reverend Loeffler’s Democratic opponent for next month’s term.
Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images
According to a Fox News report in August, Loeffler issued a statement in response to the protests, saying the WNBA was “more concerned with the game of politics than basketball.”
Republican Majorie Taylor Greene, an elected representative of Georgia’s 14th congressional district, was posing alongside Doles earlier this year on the campaign trail. He is, however allegedly removed Doles about a demonstration in which Loeffler appeared and stated, “He will not be received at events I attend. Period.”
After Doles attended the GOP meeting, Loeffler claimed local reports said he was unaware of him and the debate he was having. Loeffler’s campaign made similar claims about the latest image with Doless.
“Kelly had no idea who it was, and if she had, she would have been fired immediately because, to put it bluntly, we condemn everything she stands for,” Stephen Lawson, a campaign spokesman for Loeffler, said in a statement on Sunday.
Warnock spokesman Michael Brewer made the statement Newsweek Sunday: “While Kelly Loeffler is campaigning for the division and misrepresentation of Georgians, she is once again trying to distance herself from a well-known white supremacist and former JRC leader who almost beat a black man to death. There is no acceptable explanation. This happens once, not a second time. “
Loeffler’s campaign did not respond Newsweek’s request for timely publication.
This article has been updated along with comments from Lawson and Brewer.
