Far-right provocateur who chained herself to Twitter’s front door to protest being banned will run for Congress in the district that represents Mar-a-Lago
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and conspiracy theorist, announced Friday she is launching a congressional bid to become a U.S. representative in the district just north of Miami, Florida.
Florida’s 21st congressional district includes Trump’s golf club Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, and the district has voted Democrat in the last two presidential elections – with 59 per cent voting for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and 61 per cent for Barack Obama in 2012.
Loomer filed as a Republican candidate in the district currently represented by Democratic Representative Lois Frankel, who ran unopposed in the 2018 midterm elections. Frankel is also a vocal critic of President Donald Trump.
‘My opponent cares far more about radical leftist special interests, her anti-Semitic colleagues, and protecting criminal illegal aliens from deportation than about her district and constituents here in Florida who she’s supposed to be working for, not against,’ Loomer said in a statement last week.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, is running for Congress in Florida’s 12th district – which includes Palm Beach, where Donald Trump’s golf club Mar-a-Lago is located
Loomer is known for being a far-right conspiracy theorist and sharing anti-Muslim sentiments
She is looking to take Democratic Rep. Lois Frankel’s seat. Frankel ran unopposed in 2018
‘My opponent cares far more about radical leftist special interests, her anti-Semitic colleagues, and protecting criminal illegal aliens from deportation than about her district and constituents here in Florida,’ Loomer said in a statement
Loomer has come under fire for anti-Muslim comments and has been kicked off of several sites – including Twitter. She was banned from ride share apps Uber and Lyft after she called for the creation of a new one that would not employ Muslim drivers.
In November 2018, she handcuffed herself to Twitter’s offices in New York City for two hours after she was banned from the social media site. She yelled through the doors that the company was ‘evil.’
The protest was live streamed, and showed Loomer wearing a sweatshirt that said ‘#STOPTHEBIAS’ on the back and a yellow Star of David on her chest – like the ones Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves as Jewish during the Holocaust.
Loomer was banned from Twitter a week before her protest for posting a tweet criticizing Ilhan Omar after she was elected to Congress. The tweet called Omar, who is a progressive Democrat and a Muslim Somali immigrant, ‘anti Jewish’ and pro-Sharia law.
She was also kicked off of money transfer and fundraising sites PayPal, GoFundMe and Venmo.
Loomer has been banned from several sites, including Twitter. In November she protested by handcuffing herself to the front door of the Twitter offices in New York City after she was kicked off the site for posting that progressive Muslim Rep. Ilhan Omar is ‘anti Jewish’ and pro-Sharia law
Loomer’s campaign will be headed by Karen Giorno, who was Florida’s state director for Trump’s 2016 campaign
‘Big-Tech censorship of conservatives is an issue of growing importance to Americans,’ Loomer wrote in her campaign launch statement. ‘Tech titans’ censorship … makes it clear that Republicans are under attack.’
She said, if elected, she would fight with Republican colleagues to criminalize this type of tech censorship.
The conservative blogger’s campaign will be headed by Karen Giorno, who was Florida’s state director for Trump’s 2016 campaign.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said members of the GOP need to condemn Loomer’s message and not support her candidacy.
‘This is today’s Washington Republican Party, a full-blown white nationalist is running for Congress in Florida,’ the spokesperson said.