Washington, DC – Following the sentencing of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooter and ahead of tomorrow’s fourth anniversary of the anti-immigrant terrorist attack in El Paso, TX that killed 23 people on August 3, 2019, America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas issued the following statement:
“Instead of generating a reckoning about the dangers of mainstreaming dangerous conspiracies after the deadly incidents in El Paso, Pittsburgh and other communities across the U.S, too many Republicans have embraced the use of “invasion” and “replacement” conspiracy language. These deadly lies are now at the heart of GOP’s strategy, as we are witnessing in Congress and throughout the GOP presidential primary.
This type of language and narratives perpetuate fears that white Americans are being intentionally replaced by non-white Americans and it fuels hate and violence. We must denounce its continued spread and call out the lies as we commemorate the lives lost in Pittsburgh and El Paso and every day.”
See below for updated tracking and analysis from America’s Voice, underscoring the scope of Republicans’ continued mainstreaming of these dangerous white nationalist conspiracies. And for a deeper dive, check out our latest blog on the AV website: “Four Years Later, the White Nationalist Conspiracy Theory Espoused by the El Paso Shooter is a Centerpiece of the GOP Policy Agenda.”
Republicans in Congress: White Nationalist Conspiracies and Lies
America’s Voice has identified:
- Over 500 examples of elected Republicans or GOP campaigns that employed the white nationalist great replacement conspiracy theory over the last year, from August 3, 2022, through July 28, 2023.
- 34 Members of Congress amplified the “invasion” rhetoric including 90 times by House Republicans in their official capacity this year.
- The Republican House Majority has also invited 15 witnesses to testify before Congress who had previously promoted these conspiracies or used “invasion” or “replacement” rhetoric.
- Seven pieces of legislation introduced by Republicans in this 118th Congress employ the “invasion” conspiracy theory.
- 47 different Republican Members have co-sponsored at least one of these pieces of legislation.
- On June 22, 2023, by a vote of 219 – 208, the House voted to refer H.Res.503, the Biden impeachment resolution sponsored by Rep. Lauren Boebert, to the Committees even as it relied on the “invasion” conspiracy theory. All Republicans present voted yes, while all Democrats present voted no.
- This comes after 700 examples of Republicans echoing these white nationalist conspiracy theories in the ‘22 election cycle.
Republican Presidential Field: White Nationalist Conspiracies and Lies
- Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis continue to embrace and mainstream ugly anti-immigrant conspiracies and lies. In addition to touting anti-immigrant policies and using “invasion” language, Trump has been claiming that immigrants during the Biden administration have “come by the millions” from “mental institutions” and “prisons.”
- Meanwhile, the DeSantis immigration and border plan heavily features “stop the invasion” framing, while a DeSantis campaign staffer was fired over his creation of a video employing the same neo-Nazi logo that’s appeared on the cover of multiple white nationalist terrorists’ manifestos.
- The rest of the GOP presidential field has been no better. For example, this week, Mike Pence’s “Advancing American Freedom” organization released their immigration and border plan with the first point reading “DECLARE AN INVASION AT THE BORDER,” detailing a dangerous plan to turn the conspiracy theory into actual policy.
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