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By Phillip Stucky
Republican candidate for Virginia governor Corey Stewart went the entire weekend without tweeting about the proposed removal of a confederate monument after Richard Spencer attended a Saturday protest.
Spencer came to the rally Saturday afternoon, which contained prominent white nationalists. The protest didn’t last long. The group clashed with counter-protesters, and police dispersed the torch-bearing crowd.
“What brings us together is that we are white, we are a people, we will not be replaced,” the “alt-right” organizer told members of the crowd.
Stewart maintained a strict silence on the topic over the weekend, opting instead to include tweets about Mother’s Day, his jobs and tax plan, and to share supporter’s comments.
https://twitter.com/CoreyStewartVA/status/863838845061562368
The candidate finally answered questions about his silence Sunday evening.
https://twitter.com/CoreyStewartVA/status/863871810680610822
Stewart attended several protests over the statue, and tweeted his support on multiple occasions, asserting the fact that the core issue was the Commonwealth’s heritage.
https://twitter.com/CoreyStewartVA/status/856872376490971146
https://twitter.com/CoreyStewartVA/status/856851372922343428
“We have been given another opportunity to push back against the out-of-control politically correct left that seeks to silence their political opposition,” Stewart said in a press release after Judge Richard Moore approved an injunction to keep the monument intact for at least six months.
Spencer is president of The National Policy Institute, a white identitarian organization.
Republican front-runner for governor Ed Gillespie quickly slammed the protest, calling the movement an “ugly display.”
The ugly display of divisive rhetoric and intimidation tactics in Charlottesville yesterday (1/2) https://t.co/MBHWbYYy8t
— Ed Gillespie (@EdWGillespie) May 14, 2017
does not reflect the thoughtfulness and tolerance I see in my fellow Virginians everywhere I go. (2/2)
— Ed Gillespie (@EdWGillespie) May 14, 2017
Officials with the Stewart campaign didn’t immediately return a request for comment.