A mock town hall event aimed to criticize Rep. Lee Zeldin for avoiding meeting with "concerned citizens" ended up accusing the New York Republican of being in favor of terrorist attacks on African-American churches and the rise of a new Nazi Party.
The event was put on by Project Free Knowledge, which had been pushing Zeldin to have a town hall meeting.
Project Free Knowledge is a local affiliate of Indivisible, a group founded by former Democratic congressional staffers that has gained notoriety for packing Republican town halls with vocal activists and protesters.
Project Free Knowledge, however, failed to convince Zeldin to host a town hall. Its solution was to put on a "mock town hall," in which a "People's Candidate" was pitted against a fake Zeldin in a debate.
The event, held earlier this month, was promoted on Indivisible's website. It was broadcast on Facebook Live, and can be viewed below (it starts about 20 minutes in).
Zeldin's congressional office characterized the event as "disturbing," and told the Washington Free Beacon that this type of activity is why Zeldin decided not to take part in Project Free Knowledge events.
"This 'Mock Town Hall' was truly disturbing and demonstrated exactly why Congressman Zeldin won't associate himself with liberal obstructionists," said Jennifer DiSiena.
Zeldin's office specifically took issue with one part of the mock town hall in which the man pretending to be Zeldin suggests he would have no problem with terrorists shooting up a "black church."
The moment comes about 34 minutes into the video as the "people's candidate" is criticizing the idea of military buildup. When he asks, "What are we supposed to be afraid of?," the fake Zeldin says "terrorists."
"Okay, as long as they're not shooting up a black church," the people's candidate responds.
"Those are okay," says the fake Zeldin.
About an hour and eight minutes into the video, when the people's candidate is talking about how the United States purportedly resembles Germany during the rise of the Nazi Party, the fake Zeldin says, "Yes, please."
Zeldin is one of two Jewish Republicans in the 115th Congress.
At another point in the event, 55 minutes in, Zeldin—a veteran—is mocked for his commitment to caring for homeless military veterans.
Project Free Knowledge discounted criticisms of the event, telling the Washington Free Beacon in an email that the event was "political satire intended to showcase the fact that everything about our political situation is serious, except for Lee Zeldin's capabilities as a leader."
The group criticized the Free Beacon's questions about the event, stating that "several fundamental, erroneous assumptions" were made.
"Your message indicates that you have already made several fundamental, erroneous assumptions about the nature of our event," said Anna Sposato of Project Free Knowledge. "The purpose of the event was to provide criticisms and counter arguments of Lee Zeldin's positions that did not appeal to popular modes of rebuttal used by the Democratic party, and that countered misleading rhetorical strategies used by the Republican party."
"The arguments and criticisms used relied on distinctions that were much more subtle than people are accustomed to finding in the news," Sposato said.
Sposato said the comment about terrorism at black churches was "intended to highlight the disconnect between Republican arguments used to justify racial profiling in the name of national security measures against Islamic terrorism."
Sposato also said that fake Zeldin saying "yes, please" to the return of the Nazis was "political satire at work" and "a joke that likely hit home."
"The reference to leanings toward Nazism in our current political system was a joke that likely hit home for you because of several features of our time that are reminiscent of a previous one, such as an intense focus on militarism and masculinity, the use of racist arguments to present entire ethnic groups as dangerous to western society, the manipulation of socialist language to win the working class, and the creation of a personality cult around an individual, while dismantling surrounding power structures to consolidate power at the top," Sposato said.
To avoid confusion, Sposato's responses can be read in full below.
Sposato on fake Zeldin's comment that terrorism in black churches is okay:
First, the comment about white terrorism in black communities was taken entirely out of context by Mr. Zeldin's office. It was clearly intended to highlight the disconnect between Republican arguments used to justify racial profiling in the name of national security measures against Islamic terrorism. What they fail to address in these same appeals for security is the need to protect communities of color from white terrorism, which it should be noted was the principle cause the failure of post Civil War Reconstruction, and the current concentration of African Americans in northern inner cities areas like Chicago and Cleveland. Anyone with an understanding of our nation's racial history will also understand that the current emphasis on black and brown communities as threats to American security is in fact a distraction from white violence and a corresponding attempt to vilify groups that have historically been victims of it. This comment was intended to expose the clear contradiction in appeals to safety from the same leaders who refuse to adequately address the historical problem of white violence, which continues today through police brutality, terrorist acts such as the one committed by Dylan Roof, and the systematic enforcement of inequality in voting right restrictions, mass incarceration, and lack of educational resources. To the extent that these problems are not central to Mr. Zeldin's platform, while communities of color are misrepresented as unsafe and threatening, leaders like him allow violences [sic] against such communities to continue without an adequate legal response or societal critique. It is in this way that he implicitly condones such hateful acts, and it is for this reason that we criticized his position of combatting terrorism as a phenomenon only originating in non-white ethnic groups, which is historically false.
Sposato on fake Zeldin's excitement over a new rise of the Nazis:
Finally, the reference to leanings toward Nazism in our current political system was a joke that likely hit home for you because of several features of our time that are reminiscent of a previous one, such as an intense focus on militarism and masculinity, the use of racist arguments to present entire ethnic groups as dangerous to western society, the manipulation of socialist language to win the working class, and the creation of a personality cult around an individual, while dismantling surrounding power structures to consolidate power at the top. The intention of this event wasn't to make 'odd accusations' as you say, but rather to draw out the absurdities in our political climate through hyperbolic representation that nevertheless points to existing, although more subtle, problems. This is political satire at work: making the absurd ring true so as to highlight the need for careful examination and change.
Sposato on confusion over the message of the mock town hall event:
The difference between the arguments presented in this event and those you will find in mainstream political discourse today is that they rested on careful distinctions and they criticized linguistic manipulations. One example we highlighted was the attempt to establish the false equivalences between things like immigrants and illegal activity, or communities of color and criminality. Exposing these manipulations is necessary to find the truth, and that is what everyone should be seeking. Our group does not promote, issue, or subscribe to reductive analyses, and I hope others will follow suit in avoiding this unfortunate practice.