RJC, Cheney Pull Support For Massie's Challenger Over 'Racist' Tweets Criticizing The 'Demonization of White People'

Mr. McMurtry, a lawyer who gained prominence when he defended a Covington Catholic student who sued CNN over its coverage of his encounter with a Native American protester in front of the Lincoln Memorial, has written and shared a series of Twitter posts and articles that contain racist tropes, anti-immigrant sentiment and transphobic material.

In one tweet from December 2019, Mr. McMurtry wrote of the "need to push back against demonization of white people," adding that "we should not be willing scapegoats for someone else's agenda." In another, he complained that "some cartel-looking dude is playing a video of some wild Mexican birthday party at full volume" in an airport, and cited it as a reason that "we should question unlimited immigration. We just cannot integrate so many people."

In a separate tweet, he approvingly shared a 2016 blog post subtitled "A Very Brief Primer on Being Alt Right," which condemned as "cowards" people who describe themselves as conservatives and embrace a progressive agenda, saying they were afraid of being branded "racist, sexist, homophobic."

"Let's see them start telling the truth about transsexualism being a mental illness, or about the implication of IQ disparities between different racial groups," the post read in part.

In an interview on Friday, Mr. Massie questioned why Ms. Cheney would donate to Mr. McMurtry, citing the posts.

"He has views on race and culture and ethnicity that I don't think have a place in the G.O.P.," Mr. Massie said. "But maybe Liz has a different plan for the party, and maybe she thinks backing an alt-right candidate would curry favor with part of the conference."

In a statement on Friday evening, Mr. McMurtry's campaign manager did not disavow any of the comments, but attacked Mr. Massie for highlighting them.

Jake Monssen, Mr. McMurtry's campaign manager, said in a statement that Mr. Massie was "so desperate to save his failing campaign he's now taking plays from the left and trying to smear Todd McMurtry with false, personal attacks."

"Todd's wife of 32 years is Puerto Rican and they raised their children in a bilingual household," Mr. Monssen added. "Todd supports legal immigration and acculturation," he said, asserting that Mr. Massie "is willing to say anything against those with a different viewpoint, regardless of facts."