GOP Officials in Texas Just Can’t Stop Sharing Conspiracy Theories, Racist Memes About George Floyd

GOP Officials in Texas Just Can’t Stop Sharing Conspiracy Theories, Racist Memes About George Floyd

Seven more Republican county chairs in Texas have shared conspiracy theories and racist memes on social media regarding the death of George Floyd and the subsequent protests nationwide, The Texas Tribute reported Friday, on top of the five party figures previously identified.

Some of the posts suggested that Floyd’s death while in police custody was staged to chip away at black support for President Trump. Others suggested that protesters were being paid by Jewish billionaire George Soros, a frequent target for conspiracies in far-right circles on social media.

“Doug Sanford, the chairperson of Freestone County, Russell Hayter, the chairperson of Hays County and Jaime Durham, the chairperson of Foard County, each shared this week a fake advertisement reading ‘Get Paid to be a… Professional Anarchist,’ with a note claiming Soros would pay people $200 for taking action,” the story notes.

Meanwhile, the Republican chairperson of Shackelford County shared a picture of Soros with the text, “The pandemic isn’t working. Start the racial wars.”

Another party official in Reagan County shared a post with 21 “puzzling questions” about Floyd’s death.

Gov. Greg Abbott has not yet indicated whether he will call for the resignations of these GOP chairs after doing so for two others on Thursday.

William Vaillancourt

William Vaillancourt is a writer and editor from New Hampshire whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Progressive, Slate and Areo Magazine, among other places. He holds a BA in Political Science and History from Boston University.

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