ICYMI: Republican Nominee for State House Has White Nationalist Ties, Called for Executing LGBTQ People
Disturbing new reporting shows Marshall Rawson, the GOP nominee for Florida House District 10, enthusiastically applauded executing LGBTQ people as recently as 2023 on his social media.
This horrifying revelation comes on the heels of reports detailing his antisemitic and anti-Black white nationalist ties, including:
- Marching in the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA that led to the murder of Heather Heyer
- Participating in events hosted by the League of the South, an infamous neo-Nazi group whose leadership has spewed antisemitic bile online and claimed that Jewish people are “weakening” white identity
- Repeated calls for secession from the United States
- Social media posts downplaying the horrors of slavery and smearing the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Equality Florida Spokesperson Brandon Wolf issued the following statement:
When Florida’s leaders pile up years of anti-LGBTQ, anti-Black, and Stop Woke-style policy that is designed to embolden extremists, candidates like Marshall Rawson come crawling out of the chaos. His despicable record does not exist in a vacuum. Under Governor DeSantis, Florida has become the poster child for the right wing’s hysteria campaign, banning books, censoring curriculum, targeting teachers and families, ripping healthcare from thousands, and more.
Rawson’s appalling comments should disqualify anyone from positions of leadership or public trust. This division and dehumanization should have no place in our state. And any politician should be able to answer a simple question: Will you vocally denounce this violent rhetoric or will you be complicit? Silence allows hate to fester. Hesitation is unacceptable. Floridians deserve leaders who will show a spine for what’s right. We all deserve a state where everyone belongs, everyone is safe, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive. That is the Florida we will continue to build.
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