Report: Leaked messages reveal white nationalist group rallied to keep GOP Rep. Steve King in office
Leaked chat messages show members of a white nationalist group rallied to support Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) earlier this year, after he suggested the term "white supremacist" shouldn't be "offensive."
On Wednesday, a media organization called Unicorn Riot released what it says are "more than 770,000 messages from chat servers associated with Identity Evropa," a white nationalist organization, HuffPost reports. These messages reveal members rallied to support King after his statement caused an uproar and he was stripped of his committee assignments.
Concerned that King, who has a history of making racist remarks, would be forced out of office, one user wrote: "Steve King is more useful in Congress than as a nobody. He needs to be more careful about who he talks to and to not make tactless statements to the media."
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Identity Evropa's leader, Patrick Casey, reportedly urged his members to call the office of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to let him know they stood behind King, and before the November midterms, users were encouraged to donate to his campaign and call his office to let him know he had their backing. "We need 100 Steve Kings in office," one user wrote.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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