Billionaire GOP donor Robert Mercer gave $2 million to a shadowy nonprofit group that created inflammatory web ads about a fictitious ‘Islamic States of America’ during the campaign.
He made the contribution to Secure America Now, a 501(c)4 nonprofit that made the ads, which sought to raise warnings about an Islamic takeover over western nations.
The ad shows the Statue of Liberty holding Islam’s crescent moon aloft, and has the famous ‘Hollywood’ sign replaced with ‘Allahu Akbar.’
It portrays a world where Syrian refugees have effectively taken over the country – a message echoed in a similar ad about an ‘Islamic State of France’ where the Mona Lisa wears an Islamic head-covering.
The nonprofit worked with Google and Facebook to target the ads in swing states that ended up giving Donald Trump an election victory.
In 2016 tax documents that the nonprofit provided to OpenSecrets on request, a $2 million contribution from Mercer is shown.
A $1.1 million donation came from Estee Lauder heir Ronald S. Lauder, and $600,000 came from former BestBuy CEO Brad Anderson, Foster Friess and the firm and Olympus Ventures LLC,a Best Buy founder.
An ad on a made-up ‘Islamic States of Germany’ boasts: ‘You can even sell your daughter or sister to be married.’
CARRYING A TORCH: The ad portrays a nation taken over by radical Islamists
The inflammatory ads show a ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ made from St. Paul’s Chapel
HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD: The ad replaces the famous Hollywood sign with ‘Allahu Akbar,’ or ‘god is greatest’
WHEN YOU’RE A STAR … The ad shows jihadists getting stars on Hollywood Boulevard
The one on France is set up to mock a high-end travel ad about a place where ‘under Sharia law, you can enjoy everything the Islamic State of France has to offer, as long as you follow the rules
Such nonprofit 501(c) groups are social welfare organizations that are meant to refrain from outright politicking or like endorsing a specific candidate or engaging in politics as their primary purpose.
But the messages of the ads dovetailed with Donald Trump’s warnings about immigration and radical Islam.
The ads also portrayed an ‘Islamic State of France’
The ads also portrayed an ‘Islamic State of France’
TRIUMPH OF ACCOUNTING: 501c(4) social welfare organizations operate on a non-profit status. Contributions aren’t always deductible, but can be a business expense. The groups don’t have to reveal their donors
The ‘Islamic States of America’ ad blasts ‘weak leaders’ who have allowed ‘unsecured borders and Syrian refugee immigration’ who allowed jihadis to infiltrate and overtake America – then portrays a faux-reality where they succeeded.
Trump, in his campaign, blasted weak leaders and lax immigration policies, while calling for a temporary Muslim ban.
The add continues its riff, showing stars of jihadis written in Arabic along the sidewalk on Hollywood Boulevard.
It shows a computer-generated ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ that has replaced St. Paul’s Chapel in downtown Manhattan.
A monument to those who died aboard United Flight 93 has been replaced with an ‘Islamic Cultural Center’ in the ad.
The ad ends by saying ‘The Choice is Yours,’ without advocating for a particular candidate.
The group reported $1 million in independent expenditures on ads to the Federal Election Commission.
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Mercer’s was the group’s largest contribution, and Mercer was one of the top conservative donors helping to elect Trump, with more than $22 million in contributions to conservative causes, according to OpenSecrets.
Mercer also helped create Cambridge Analytica, which got suspended by Facebook after it was revealed to have acquired data on millions of Facebook users without their permission.
The Trump campaign paid the firm millions for its services during the campaign.