Gosar backs anti-Muslim activist Loomer in congressional bid

Congressman Paul Gosar has endorsed the congressional campaign of Laura Loomer, an anti-Muslim activist and far-right provocateur.

Loomer announced Aug. 2 that she is running for Florida’s 21st Congressional District, which covers Palm Beach and other areas north of Fort Lauderdale. The district is heavily Democratic, and Democratic incumbent Lois Frankel didn’t have a Republican opponent in 2018.

On Saturday, Gosar expressed his support for the controversial Loomer, tweeting, “I fully endorse Laura Loomer in her quest for Congress. She has proven herself to be an army of one and embodies fearlessness.” 

I fully endorse Laura Loomer in her quest for Congress. She has proven herself to be an army of one and embodies fearlessness. #LauraLoomerForCongress #FreedomOfSpeech #Freedomcaucus #MAGA2020

— Paul Gosar (@DrPaulGosar) August 3, 2019

Gosar, a Prescott Republican, also tweeted that “Big Tech” should “replatform” Loomer, who has been banned by Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. After Twitter banned her in August 2018 for comments that were critical of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s Muslim faith, Loomer handcuffed herself to the front doors of the company’s New York headquarters while wearing the yellow Star of David patch that the Nazi regime in Germany once forced Jews to wear.

In 2017, Loomer made headlines when she said she was late for a conference because she refused to ride with Uber or Lyft drivers who are Muslims, and called for the creation of a ride-sharing company that doesn’t hire Muslims. 

In addition to her anti-Muslim bigotry, Loomer has faced criticism for propagating conspiracy theories, including baseless theories that several high-profile mass shooting attacks were faked. 

Gosar is no stranger to anti-Muslim controversies. Last year, he attended a dinner in London with Filip DeWinter, a prominent anti-Muslim politician from Belgium who has called for the banning of Muslims from Europe and spoke to a white nationalist organization in the United States in 2016. 

Gosar is also a supporter of Tommy Robinson, an anti-Muslim British activist who was jailed for 13 months for violating his country’s strict laws about filiming defendants who are on trial.