Lincoln Project Sends Fake White Supremacists to Virginia GOP Event

Five people dressed in the uniform of Charlottesville white supremacists—white button-downs, khakis, and tiki torches—stood by the campaign bus of a candidate for Virginia governor Friday for a photo-op. A reporter on the scene in Charlottesville said they chanted, “We’re all in for Glenn,” referring to Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin. They were not, however, attendees of the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally or even real Youngkin supporters. They donned the getups as part of a stunt put on by the Lincoln Project, a controversial group of #NeverTrump Republicans. The Lincoln Project confirmed to Vice that it orchestrated the display in a statement: “Today’s demonstration was our way of reminding Virginians what happened in Charlottesville four years ago, the Republican Party’s embrace of those values, and Glenn Youngkin’s failure to condemn it.” One of the group’s co-founders, John Weaver, resigned earlier this year, as did other leaders, after allegations of sexual harassment against Weaver emerged.