August 18, 2022
From The New York State Democrats:
Lee Zeldin is showing his far-right extremism again. During a radio interview this week, Zeldin claimed that the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol did “not meet the elements of an insurrection.” When asked if he thought Donald Trump should have spoken up sooner to calm the January 6th mob, Zeldin said, “I honestly don’t.”
“Lee Zeldin is so extreme he does not even consider January 6th an insurrection, and he doesn’t believe Donald Trump should have calmed the mob before they stormed the Capitol,” said New York State Democratic Party Spokesman James Martin. “It’s no surprise that Extreme Lee Zeldin is showing his true far-right colors – he voted with the rest of his far-right Republican allies to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election. What’s clear is that Lee Zeldin is too extreme and dangerous for New York.”
Extreme Lee’s comments are no surprise, given that he continues to spread dangerous conspiracy theories about the election to this day and voted to overturn the 2020 election results just hours after the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Yesterday, the New York Daily News described Zeldin as a “loyal ally of Trump” who “voted to overturn the 2020 election won by President Biden.”
Zeldin also holds ties to far-right extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Long Island Loud Majority –– who were both in attendance on January 6th.
Here’s Another Statement:
Just Yesterday, Zeldin Peddled Conspiracy Theory Surrounding FBI Search of Mar-a-Lago
NEW YORK, NY – Today, New York Democrats called on Lee Zeldin to immediately condemn recent dangerous rhetoric toward the FBI made by campaign supporter and Long Island Loud Majority co-founder Shawn Farash.
Farash bashed the FBI and pushed baseless conspiracy theories at a Long Island rally to boost Zeldin and other Republican candidates: “When you saw the FBI, the corrupt, disgusting, disgraceful FBI go out there and raid the home of a sitting president, or the former sitting president, should be sitting president, because we all know what really happened in 2020.”
Farash continued, “It disgusted me, shook me to my core, shook all of you to your core […] We obviously have…Long Island’s favorite son, Lee Zeldin, running for governor.”
Full video of Farash’s comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihIGU9_j7KE
Long Island Loud Majority is a known anti-government group whose members attended the January 6th insurrection.
Zeldin himself has also peddled conspiracy theories surrounding the FBI’s legal search of Mar-a-Lago. During an interview yesterday, Zeldin questioned the credibility of the search, saying he was “worried that there is a political element.”
Zeldin and Farash’s comments come after multiple threats and attacks toward the FBI, including an armed suspect in Cincinnati attempting to breach a local FBI office, threats of a dirty bomb outside Washington FBI headquarters, and multiple posts on far-right social media platforms calling for attacks on FBI agents.
“We’ve all seen this show before. When Donald Trump and extremists like Lee Zeldin spout reckless lies, they incite violence against innocent Americans and our sacred institutions. Now, they’ve turned their fire on our federal law enforcement community, and extremists around the country have already begun attempting violence against law enforcement officers,” said State Senator Anna M. Kaplan. “It’s dangerous and shameful that local extremists from the Long Island Loud Majority, who are extensively involved with Lee Zeldin and his gubernatorial campaign, have jumped on the latest conspiracy bandwagon, attacking the dedicated men and women of the FBI, and putting their lives at risk. Lee Zeldin must condemn the dangerous and radical rhetoric being used by his supporters against law enforcement, and he must come clean with New Yorkers about his associations with these extremist groups.”
“Lee Zeldin has promoted baseless 2020 election conspiracy theories and dangerous rhetoric directed toward the FBI, especially from a known supporter and co-founder of an extremist anti-government group,” said Chairman Jay S. Jacobs. “By continuing to cozy up to radical groups that support the ‘Big Lie,’ Zeldin continues to show his true colors and that he is too extreme for New York.”
A new report from Newsday revealed that Zeldin’s campaign paid members of the far-right extremist group Long Island Loud Majority to collect petition signatures. Long Island Loud Majority attended the January 6th insurrection and has been labeled an anti-government group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
