Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff accused incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) of campaigning with a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member, ignoring her remarks to the contrary. He made his accusations during an impromptu interview with Fox News on Wednesday. Ossoff’s allegation was based on a viral photo of Loeffler with a former KKK leader, Chester Doles, taken earlier this month.
“We have two United States Senators in Georgia who have blatantly used their offices to enrich themselves. This is beyond partisanship,” stated Ossoff. “Here’s the bottom line: Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. She is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the fact that she’s been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan.”
Loeffler’s campaign spokesperson Stephen Lawson previously disavowed any connection between Loeffler and Doles and explained the context of the photo.
“Kelly had no idea who that was, and if she had she would have kicked him out [of the event] immediately because we condemn in the most vociferous terms everything that he stands for,” stated Lawson.
During the interview, Ossoff also asserted that the domestic abuse or child abuse coverup allegations against his fellow Democratic candidate, Raphael Warnock, wouldn’t negatively impact the Democratic ticket.
Ossoff later shared a clip of the interview to his Twitter page, reiterating his allegation made on-camera about Loeffler’s association with the KKK.
“Fox News walked up rolling live, and I appreciated the free air time!” wrote Ossoff. “Also, Kelly Loeffler campaigned with a klansman.”
Ossoff included a link to a campaign donation page for him and fellow Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock. Representative-elect Nikema Williams (D-GA-05) shared the clip, also accusing Loeffler of campaigning with a klansman.
Loeffler (R-GA) responded to the allegations promptly.
“Every Georgian knows that Jon Ossoff is a pathological liar,” stated Loeffler. “If he’s going to bring up lies about who I’m campaigning with, I’m going to talk about the truth about who he’s campaigning with. He’s campaigning with Raphael Warnock, who has a past with child abuse and domestic abuse, who has celebrated Jeremiah Wright, Karl Marx, Fidel Castro, James Cone, [and] Louis Farrakhan. He’s attacked our police, our military. He’s attacked Israel, small businesses, and every single Georgian.”
Prior to the uninterrupted air time toward the end of the interview, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy questioned Ossoff about any possible influences from China, including his business dealings with a Hong Kong company. Ossoff would only say that the topic was “utter nonsense.”
Twitter recently trended with a 2012 post from Ossoff, in which he told his supporters to follow the Xinhua News Agency, the Chinese government’s state-run press agency.
The runoff elections will take place on January 5.
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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Jon Ossoff” by Jon Ossoff.
