OVERREACTING

GOP Lawmaker Doxxes AP Reporter Over Emailed Question

Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA) had been asked about his involvement in a racist Facebook group.

A Republican congressman in Iowa tweeted out a screenshot with an Associated Press reporter’s personal details late Friday in response to the reporter sending him an emailed question. Rep. Rod Blum had been contacted by the reporter, Ryan Foley, in connection with claims Blum is a member of a Facebook group known for racist, far-right content and conspiracy theories. Another lawmaker, Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis, was outed as an alleged moderator of the “Tea Party” group earlier this week and left it shortly after, claiming he was unaware of his membership. Other moderators of the group include conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec and anti-Muslim activist Pam Gellar. Blum responded to Foley’s inquiry about his own status in the group by posting a screenshot of Foley’s email to his press aide, which included the reporter’s work address and cell phone number. “Can you believe @rjfoley contacted my staff trying to tie me to racist material being shared by random people worldwide on an open Facebook group I don’t even know exists? I can. This ‘journalist’ is obsessed [with] hating on Republicans & abuses his position,” Blum wrote.