Lauren Elena Witzke (born February 9, 1988) is an American far-right[1] political activist known for her anti-LGBT views and promotion of QAnon.[2][3][4] Witzke was the Republican nominee in the 2020 United States Senate election in Delaware, which she lost to incumbent Democrat Chris Coons. She is a former TV show host for TruNews.
Lauren Witzke | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lauren Elena Witzke February 9, 1988 Delmar, Delaware, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Delaware Technical and Community College Goldey-Beacom College (BA) |
Early life and education
editWitzke was born on February 9, 1988, in Delmar, Delaware. She attended Goldey–Beacom College, where she earned a BA in business management.[5] At Goldey–Beacom, she played softball as a catcher and shortstop, and volleyball initially as a setter and then defensive specialist.[6][7]
Career
edit2020 Senate election
editOn September 16, 2020, Witzke won the Republican primary for the 2020 Senate election in Delaware with 57% of the vote, defeating attorney and former Marine James DeMartino. Witzke said that her opponent was a "RINO", an acronym for 'Republican in name only'. Her candidacy was not endorsed by the Delaware state Republican Party who had instead decided to endorse DeMartino.[8] Witzke's Senate campaign was endorsed by white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who had marched in the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville.[9] Witzke accepted Fuentes' endorsement with the response of "Thank you, Nick!".[10] During the general election campaign, Witzke claimed without evidence that Hunter Biden's laptop contained illicit images of "Chris Coons' daughter in addition to seven other underaged girls". PolitiFact rated the claim to be false.[11]
In the November 2020 general election, Witzke was defeated by incumbent Senator Chris Coons 59-38%.[12]
Media work
editAfter far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Rick Wiles was hospitalized with COVID-19 in late May 2021, his organization TruNews announced that Witzke would be filling in for him as co-host of the program.[13] After Wiles returned, Witzke was hired as a permanent co-host of his show. As of September 6, 2021, Witzke has been let go from TruNews.[14] In October 2021, she revealed she had contracted COVID-19 and said she experienced a loss of senses and "brain fog". She blamed COVID-19 testing done at TruNews for making her aware of her infection.[15]
Political views
editWitzke has appeared on VDARE, a website that the Anti-Defamation League has called a "xenophobic website" and the Southern Poverty Law Center a website that "regularly publishes articles by prominent white nationalists, race scientists and anti-Semites".[16] Witzke tweeted out her interview with VDARE, writing, "In order to preserve America, we must first preserve American families, our values, and our culture."[17] In October 2020, Witzke defended the far-right organization the Proud Boys and said at one point that the Proud Boys exemplified "patriotic masculinity" and thanked the group for providing security at her campaign rallies.[18][19] In 2023 she said that "America needs a strong leader that would make even the most infamous of fascists blush." In the same statement, she said that "Racial integration has hurt the black and white community." and that "Blacks are 13% of the population but commit 56% of the murders.[20]
Abortion
editWitzke opposes abortion and supported the overturning of the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. Upon the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020, Witzke said that "Ruth Bader Ginsberg's obsession with abortion overtly singled out blacks and minorities for extermination".[21] Witzke also attacked her Democratic opponent Chris Coons for being a "Christian-hating baby killer".[22]
Black Lives Matter
editWitzke has described Black Lives Matter as "violent terrorists" who want to "stoke societal unrest, and literally already has blood on their hands" referring to the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots in which David Dorn was killed by a burglar several miles away from riots in St. Louis.[23][19]
COVID-19
editWitzke has said that COVID-19 is "satanic" and that COVID-19 vaccine is a "satanic plot" to cause "mass death".[24] In 2022, she co-produced the film Died Suddenly, which promotes false claims about COVID-19 vaccines and Great Reset conspiracy theories.[25]
Immigration
editWitzke has supported a complete ban on all immigration to the United States for ten years.[26][16] She has also stated that "nationalist populism is the future".[27]
LGBT people
editIn March 2021, Witzke responded to a tweet from Richard Grenell about a trans woman who had attended CPAC by claiming that transgender people are "mentally ill" and "demonic".[28] She also iterated her opposition to both same-sex marriage and gay conservatives being welcomed into the Republican Party.[29][30] Witzke has also said that Christians should "reclaim the rainbow" and celebrate June (LGBT pride month) as "Christianity month".[2]
Witzke said that the COVID-19 outbreak that afflicted TruNews was a "demonic attack" on the channel for having self-described "ex-gay" Milo Yiannopoulos and called him "Satan's favorite sodomite".[4]
While speaking on an online panel on the post-Trump future of the Republican Party in March 2021, Witzke attacked conservative trans woman Blaire White, saying, "The best thing you can do for us is grow out your moustache and tell people not to live like you." On the same panel, Witzke also espoused the belief that trans people are "sexual predators" and "pedophiles".[22] In this same debate, she mentions "We also have a transgender [sic] on here, you know I don't think we should be giving a platform to this kind of degeneracy which is a gateway drug to pedophilia."[31]
In May 2023, Witzke expressed support for Uganda's death penalty for homosexuality, saying, "Unlike the lawmakers in Texas, the Uganda government recognizes that if you give an inch, the LGBTQ Mafia will take a mile... they stop it before it starts."[32]
QAnon
editWitzke has voiced support for the far-right conspiracy theory QAnon, which centers on claims that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic sexual abusers of children operating a global child sex trafficking ring conspired against former U.S. President Donald Trump during his term in office.[33][34] During Hurricane Ian, Witzke suggested that "elites" may have created the devastating hurricane as a "deep state" attempt to punish Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and particularly conservative areas of the state. On the conservative "Shots Fired" streaming broadcast, Witzke claimed that she has "no doubt" that the technology exists to control weather catastrophes.[35]
Russia
editAt the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference, Witzke described Russia as "a Christian nationalist nation", and said "I identify more with Putin's Christian values than I do with Joe Biden."[36][37] She stated that "Christian Nationalist countries are a threat to the global regime".[38]
September 11 attacks
editWitzke believes that the 9/11 attacks were committed by Israel. [39]
Personal life
editWitzke was raised Methodist. She is a former drug user, and was arrested in 2017 for possession of methamphetamine and heroin, driving under the influence, and resisting arrest, after being found "unresponsive within a car parked in a busy Tennessee intersection."[40] She was later reformed through a Pentecostal faith-based recovery program for which she became program director. She is a recent Evangelical Protestant convert to Orthodox Christianity, received within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR), and was a catechumen during her Senate campaign.[41]
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Lauren Witzke | 30,702 | 56.89% | |
| Republican | James DeMartino | 23,266 | 43.11% | |
| Total votes | 53,968 | 100.00% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chris Coons (incumbent) | 291,804 | 59.44% | +3.61% | |
| Republican | Lauren Witzke | 186,054 | 37.90% | −4.33% | |
| Independent Party | Mark Turley | 7,833 | 1.59% | N/A | |
| Libertarian | Nadine Frost | 5,244 | 1.07% | N/A | |
| Total votes | 490,935 | 100.0% | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ CHASE, RANDALL (September 17, 2020). "Republican nominee for US Senate in Delaware has repeatedly promoted QAnon conspiracy theory, once called self 'flat earther'". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Christians Attempt To Cancel Pride, Celebrate June As 'Christianity Month'". Star Observer. June 4, 2021. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "Right-wing US politician calls Teletubbies 'little gay demons' after Lil Nas X tweet". indy100. September 21, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ a b "Far-right host blames COVID outbreak on 'demonic attack' after hosting Milo Yiannopoulos". PinkNews. June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on January 31, 2022. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ "Lauren Witzke". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on September 12, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Lauren Witzke [Softball]". Goldey Beacom Lightning. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
- ^ "Lauren Witzke [Volleyball]". Goldey Beacom Lightning. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
- ^ Chase, Randall (September 15, 2020). "Newcomer Witzke wins GOP US Senate primary in Delaware". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Associated Press and Haaretz (September 18, 2020). "Delaware GOP Primary Winner Linked to QAnon, White Nationalist Nick Fuentes". Haaretz. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Sommer, Will (September 16, 2020). "New QAnon-Allied GOP Senate Candidate Also Pushed Anti-Semitism, Flat Earthism, and 9/11 Conspiracies". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 16, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Funke, Daniel (October 26, 2020). "No evidence Hunter Biden had photos of Coons' daughter". PolitiFact. Archived from the original on January 22, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "2020 General Election Report". Delaware Department of Elections. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
- ^ Mantyla, Kyle (June 1, 2021). "Anti-Vax COVID-19 Conspiracy Theorist Rick Wiles Hospitalized With COVID-19". Right Wing Watch. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ "Lauren Witzke ☦️🇺🇸". tlgrm.eu. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
- ^ Davis, Charles R. "'I've lost my joy': Anti-vax Republican, who worked for the Trump campaign and embraced QAnon, says she has COVID-19". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ a b Barrish, Cris (September 22, 2020). "Del. Senate candidate Witzke retweets support from group with 'white nationalist' ties". WHYY. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ Sales, Ben (October 6, 2020). "Delaware's GOP Senate candidate appears on site linked to white supremacists". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on December 18, 2020. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
- ^ Castronuovo, Celine (October 1, 2020). "GOP Senate candidate Lauren Witzke defends 'patriotic masculinity' of Proud Boys". The Hill. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Parra, Esteban; Horn, Brittany (October 1, 2020). "Delaware US Senate candidate thanks Proud Boys for providing free security at rally". Delaware Online. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ @LaurenWitzkeDE (May 19, 2023). "Things we know but can't say" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 20, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Naughtie, Andrew (September 29, 2020). "QAnon-linked Senate candidate under fire for 'vile and racist attacks' on RBG". The Independent. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ a b Baska, Maggie (March 16, 2021). "Trans Republican hit with disgusting transphobia by fellow conservative in 'painful' exchange". Pink News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ McFall, Caitlin (June 9, 2020). "Hundreds mourn David Dorn, retired St. Louis police captain killed in looting. Dorn's death came the same night that four officers were shot and 55 businesses were burglarized or damaged in St. Louis". Fox News. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
- ^ Davis, Charles (October 21, 2021). "'I've lost my joy': Anti-vax Republican, who worked for the Trump campaign and embraced QAnon, says she has COVID-19". Business Insider. Australia India Archived October 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine Yahoo UK Archived October 22, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Crimmins, Tricia (April 10, 2024). "Prominent conspiracy theorists are going to court over the rights to the anti-vax film 'Died Suddenly'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Spocchia, Gino (September 16, 2020). "Second QAnon supporter wins Republican Senate primary". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Williamson, Elizabeth (October 4, 2020). "In Biden's Home State, Republican Centrism Gives Way to the Fringe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Chapman, Matthew (March 1, 2021). "Former Trump spy chief hits back after failed GOP Senate candidate attacks LGBTQ rights". Raw Story. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ Holmes, Juwan J. (March 1, 2021). "Ric Grenell shared a trans woman's CPAC experience. Conservatives have been blasting him since then". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ Baska, Maggie (March 2, 2021). "Trump sycophant Richard Grenell bombarded with Republican transphobia after sharing trans woman's CPAC experience". Pink News. Archived from the original on June 4, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
- ^ Henry, Big Joel (June 15, 2021). Blair White and the Fiction of Conservative Debate (YouTube Video). United States of America. Archived from the original on May 12, 2024. Retrieved May 12, 2024.
- ^ @LaurenWitzkeDE (May 29, 2023). "Unlike the lawmakers in Texas, the Uganda government recognizes that if you give an inch, the LGBTQ Mafia will take a mile" (Tweet). Retrieved May 30, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Second QAnon supporter wins Republican Senate primary". The Independent. September 16, 2020. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ Kunzelman, Michael; Slevin, Colleen (February 9, 2020). "'QAnon' conspiracy theory creeps into mainstream politics". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
- ^ "Former GOP candidates push QAnon conspiracy theory Hurricane Ian was manufactured". The Independent. September 30, 2022. Archived from the original on September 30, 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
- ^ "Opinion | Why some white evangelicals are cheerleading Russia". MSNBC.com. March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ "No, Putin Isn't a Defender of 'Christian Values'". Reason.com. February 25, 2022. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ Bazzle, Steph (February 25, 2022). "WATCH: GOP Senate Candidate Aligns "More With Putin's Christian Values" Than Biden's". HillReporter.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ "Lauren Witzke 9/11 post | Media Matters for America". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved October 12, 2023.
- ^ "Was Witzke's arrest a step to redemption or a Congressional race nonstarter?". subscribe.delawareonline.com. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
- ^ Riccardi-Swartz, Sarah (January 26, 2021). "After Orthodox Priest Suspended for 'Stop the Steal' Activity, a Renewed Spotlight on the Orthodox Far-Right". Religion Dispatches. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
- ^ "2020 State Primary Election Report". Delaware.gov. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
Further reading
edit- Davis, Charles (October 21, 2021). "'I've lost my joy': Anti-vax Republican, who worked for the Trump campaign and embraced QAnon, says she has COVID-19". Yahoo! News. Business Insider.