The Lincoln project took credit for organizing the demonstrations, which were supposed to establish a link between Republican Glenn Youngkin’s campaign for governor and the 2017 march of white nationalists in Charlottesville.
Friday, several individuals appeared at the Youngkin event, carrying torches with teak in their hands and wearing sunglasses, where they were photographed in front of the candidate’s pre-election bus, dressed as participants in the 2017 march.
“Today’s demonstration was our way of reminding voters in Virginia of what happened in Charlottesville four years ago, that the Republican Party accepted those values, and that Glenn Youngkin did not condemn it,” the project said. Lincoln he said in a statement.
Jen Goodman, the communication staff in Youngkin’s opponent’s campaign, Terry McAuliffe, and many other Democrats used the group – which Youngkin neither invited nor praised – to hint that Youngkin’s campaign had dark racial backgrounds. Good man described the incident as “disgusting and disqualified”.
The Lincoln project statement came after social media users speculated that the prank may have been organized by McAuliffe’s campaign or progressive activists. Some social media users have speculated about their identities, noting that torchbearers are similar to some members of the Virginia Democratic Party.
In response, the party issued the following statement:
The Democratic Party of Virginia, along with its coordinated partners and affiliates, played no part today in the events that took place today outside of the Youngkin campaign bus station. What happened in Charlottesville four years ago was a tragedy and one of the darkest moments in the recent memories of our country and it can’t even be taken lightly. If anyone accuses our staff of having a role in this event, it is shameful and wrong.
In the last 24 hours, Youngkin took the lead in both RealClearPolitics in FiveThirtyEight survey averages.
The Lincoln project was founded by a group of disgruntled Republican operatives after President Trump’s 2016 election. The group focused on producing edible advertisements reflecting Trump’s rough language, and its founders gained a reputation for frequent appearances on MSNBC. They have since come under fire from critics for failing to address reports that one of their founding members, John Weaver, often sexually progresses to young men online, some of whom were minors.