Scott Presler

Last updated

Scott Presler
Scott Presler at Turning Point Action Conference 2023 (cropped).jpg
Presler in 2023
Born
Scott Ryan Presler

1987or1988(age 36–37)
Education George Mason University
OccupationPolitical activist
Years active2015–present
Political party Republican

Scott Ryan Presler (born 1987 or 1988) is an American conservative activist. Briefly an organizer for the Republican Party of Virginia before the 2016 U.S. elections, Presler came to prominence as coordinator of the "March Against Sharia" events organized by anti-Muslim advocacy group ACT for America. [1] [2]

Contents

Presler was a participant, and sometimes a speaker or organizer, in the "Stop the Steal" protests promoting the false claim that widespread electoral fraud allowed former vice president Joe Biden to win the 2020 U.S. presidential election against incumbent Donald Trump. [3] [4] [5]

Biography

Scott Ryan Presler was born in 1987 or 1988. [2] [6] The son of a United States Navy captain, [7] Presler was raised in Florida and Fairfax County, Virginia, and had lived in Virginia Beach for around a year by 2016. [8] Presler earned a degree in criminal justice from George Mason University. [8] When interviewed by The Virginian-Pilot in 2016, Presler said that he had come out as gay in June that year following the shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in which 49 people were killed. [8]

While working with the Republican Party of Virginia in 2016, Presler "engaged in sexual activity inside a Virginia Beach office the RNC shared with the state party – and posted explicit pictures of the encounter on Craigslist". [9] [10]

Career

2016 U.S. elections

Presler was employed as a regional field director for the Republican Party of Virginia in 2015 and 2016. [2] With other Trump supporters, Presler constructed a small political display in Virginia Beach that was featured in The Virginian-Pilot. [11] He also attended Norfolk's PrideFest, an LGBT festival, later that year with Republican Party officials. [8] Politico Playbook reported in January 2023 that, according to three of the publication's sources, Presler's work with the Republican Party of Virginia in 2016 ended after he posted explicit pictures on Craigslist of a sexual encounter he had in an office shared by the Republican Party of Virginia and the RNC. [9] [12]

Presler co-founded the LGBTQ coalition Gays for Trump, [7] [13] and was reported to be its chairman in 2017. [14]

Presler was present at the Gays for Trump DeploraBall held in Maryland after the inauguration of Trump as president on January 20, 2017, [14] and led the Virginia branch of the nationwide March 4 Trump later that March. [13]

ACT for America, 2017–2018

In a 2017 Washington Post interview, Presler said he was motivated to become a volunteer for anti-Muslim advocacy group ACT for America that year after hearing its founder, Brigitte Gabriel, speak. He volunteered for ACT for America for three months, [2] In June 2017, Presler was reported to be the coordinator of the "March Against Sharia" events organized by ACT for America in various states, [1] [15] as part of the counter-jihad movement. [16] According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization, the marches "attracted various factions of the radical right, including white nationalists, neo-Nazis and antigovernment extremists" that were all "united by anti-Muslim animus." [15]

Presler organized a local offshoot of the March Against Sharia in Portland, Oregon, on June 10, 2017. [6] [17] Presler later announced the event's cancellation, citing Portland mayor Ted Wheeler's request for the General Services Administration (GSA) to not issue a permit for Presler's event to occur at a park across from the Portland City Hall. [6] [17] A march on the same date in Seattle, Washington, was organized by Presler soon after. [18] [19]

Prior to the 2017 Virginia gubernatorial election, Republican Party candidate Ed Gillespie requested and received an endorsement from Presler, as Presler was at that time the vice chairman of the Virginia Beach Young Republicans and a volunteer for Gillespie's campaign. [2] A spokesperson of Gillespie told The Washington Post that he was not aware of Presler's involvement with ACT for America; Gillespie's campaign did not denounce Presler's endorsement. [2]

2020 U.S. elections

Presler in San Francisco in 2020 San Francisco Cleanup With Scott Presler.jpg
Presler in San Francisco in 2020

According to a 2021 report by Media Matters for America, a left-leaning media watchdog, Presler promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory and political movement by using hashtags in dozens of posts on Instagram in 2018 and 2019. [20] [3] [21] [22]

In April 2019, Presler held an activism workshop in the town of Kent, Connecticut, for the Connecticut Republican Party in preparation for the 2020 elections. [23] [24] A protest of Presler's event was organized by the Kent Democratic Town Committee after it failed to have his event canceled. [24] [25]

Presler organized a small clean-up event in Baltimore, Maryland, through social media the month after President Trump's tweets in July 2019 which described the congressional district represented by Democratic Party congressman Elijah Cummings as a "rodent infested mess". [26] The event was attended by more than 100 volunteers and resulted in 29 tons of trash cleaned from streets. [27] Another event in Los Angeles, California, organized by Presler involved dozens of volunteers. [27] [28] In December, Presler was advertised as appearing alongside activist Dylan Wheeler at an immigration-focused event in Bettendorf, Iowa, hosted by the Scott County Teenage Republicans; the event concluded with a speech by white supremacist political commentator Nick Fuentes. [29] [30]

In 2020, Presler continued to be involved in events in support of President Trump's re-election campaign. [31] [32] [33] On November 5, 2020, two days after polls had closed but before the election's winner had been determined, Presler led a two-day "Stop the Steal" demonstration at the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg attended by around 100 Trump supporters. [3] [34] [35] A week after the victory of the Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden in the election, Presler was involved in a pro-Trump demonstration in downtown Washington, D.C. [4] Later that month, he spoke at a "Stop the Steal" rally at the Georgia State Capitol. [5]

Presler attended the rally outside of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. that ended with an attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters. According to the Times Union and The Post-Star of New York, he did not enter the Capitol. [36] [37] [20] Presler posted a video of himself near the Capitol on January 6 in which he described the events that day as the "largest civil rights protest in American history." [38] [39]

Voter registration efforts and other political activities, 2021–2023

Presler was a speaker at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference held in Orlando, Florida, in February 2021. [40] According to 2023 reporting by Newsday , in May 2021, Presler became the brand ambassador for Rise NY PAC, a political action committee operated by the sister of New York congressional candidate George Santos following his unsuccessful run for Congress in 2020. [41] [42]

Presler was scheduled to appear at a Republican Party voter registration event in the town of Wilton, in Upstate New York, on August 25, 2021. [36] The event was sponsored by the Saratoga County Republican Committee, and House Representative Elise Stefanik, [37] [20] who promoted Presler's appearance on Twitter. [36] Stefanik and the county Republican Party were criticized by Democratic Party officials from her congressional district, who urged them to renounce Presler, but in response the Republican Party county chairman claimed the Democrats wanted to divert attention from their political failures. [37] [20] Stefanik later deleted her tweet and Presler ultimately canceled his appearance due to a Rise NY staff member contracting COVID-19. [43] [44]

Presler speaking with the New York State Young Republicans in 2022 Scott Presler (2022).jpg
Presler speaking with the New York State Young Republicans in 2022

In December 2022, Presler was involved in get-out-the-vote efforts during the runoff election in the U.S. Senate election in Georgia. [45] Later in December, Harmeet Dhillon, a lawyer and Republican National Committee (RNC) committee member, announced her candidacy in the 2023 RNC chairman election, challenging incumbent chair Ronna McDaniel. [46] [9] The day of her announcement, Dhillon said on Twitter that she would offer a job to Presler if she was elected. [9] During the race, Presler published the email addresses and Twitter account names of RNC committee members on a website called "hireharmeet.com", which Dhillon shared on Twitter. [46] [9]

Prior to the Wisconsin Supreme Court election in April 2023, Presler traveled through Wisconsin and appeared on conservative talk radio shows to promote candidate Daniel Kelly, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice. [39] [47] After posting a video on Twitter of himself standing alongside Presler, Kelly was questioned by press on Presler's presence at the United States Capitol on the day of the Capitol attack, to which Kelly responded that he was not aware of Presler's previous activities. [39] [47] [48]

2024 U.S. elections

Presler runs a non-profit organization, Early Vote Action, intended to "organize & mobilize Republicans to vote early." Shortly after her installation as Republican National Committee co-chair, Lara Trump, Donald Trump's daughter-in-law, expressed her interest to hire Presler to lead the Republican Party's "legal ballot harvesting" efforts. The RNC later clarified it would not be hiring Presler. [49]

In the 2024 United States presidential election, Presler worked on encouraging voters to vote for Donald Trump in the swing state of Pennsylvania, including some Amish communities. He cited the local case of an Amish farmer whose dairy was raided by state authorities for selling unpasteurized milk without a permit; the raid preceded reports that two children had fallen sick due to E. coli poisoning connected to the farmer's milk. [50] [51] He threatened to sue Luzerne County at a county meeting over claims of a voter registration and mail-in ballot application backlog, but did not ultimately file a lawsuit. He leveled similar accusations during appearances on right-wing media, notably the War Room podcast hosted by political operative Steve Bannon. [52]

Views

LGBT rights

In a 2016 interview by The Virginian-Pilot, Presler said he was not put off by the Republican Party's positions on gay rights despite being a gay man. [8] Presler further explained that he was supporting Trump's 2016 presidential campaign over Hillary Clinton partly because of the Second Amendment: "I 100 percent believe in the notion that armed gays don't get bashed. It is our right to feel safe." [8]

Presler expressed disagreement with President Trump's 2017 Presidential Memorandum on Military Service by Transgender Individuals, which prohibited open military service and enlistment of transgender Americans. Presler added, "'Generals know more about war than I do. I am cognisant that they understand what it takes to go to war... I don't think this is an attack on the LGBT community... I'm mixed, but I have confidence in the guidance that President Trump is receiving. I don't think for a second he's prejudiced.'". [53] [54]

Presler voiced his support for the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly referred to as the "Don't Say Gay" law, signed into law by state governor Ron DeSantis in 2022. [55] [56]

Islam

In 2017, while employed by anti-Muslim advocacy group ACT for America, Presler said in an NPR interview that he felt inspired to oppose "Muslim extremism" after the 2016 shooting at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando. [1] Because the shooter allegedly swore allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Presler said he felt the shooting exemplified homophobia in what he termed as "orthodox Islam". [1] Presler also told The Washington Post that he disagreed with the Southern Poverty Law Center's claims that ACT for America is an extremist group and the "largest grass-roots anti-Muslim group in America", insisting that ACT for America intends to help girls and women affected by Sharia (Islamic law). [2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gjelten, Tom (June 10, 2017). "'March Against Sharia' Planned Across The U.S." NPR. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Portnoy, Jenna (June 9, 2017). "Ed Gillespie declines to denounce endorsement from anti-Muslim activist" . The Washington Post . Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Prose, J. D. (February 3, 2023). "Pa. GOP groups holding events with organizer of 'Stop the Steal' rallies in 2020" . PennLive . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Clashes Between Protest Groups Break Out After Thousands Rally for Trump in DC". NBC4 Washington. November 14, 2020. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Yamanouchi, Kelly (November 21, 2020). "Trump supporters gather for Atlanta protests". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Crombie, Noelle (May 31, 2017). "Anti-Muslim march organizers cancel June 10 event in Portland, citing mayor's comments". The Oregonian/OregonLive . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Zullo, Robert (January 15, 2017). "Jubilation, dread divide locals, nation before inauguration". Richmond Times-Dispatch . pp.  A1, A6. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wilson, Patrick (July 15, 2016). "He's gay, but this Virginia Beach man is outspoken in his support for Donald Trump and the GOP". The Virginian-Pilot . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Daniels, Eugene; Bade, Rachael; Lizza, Ryan (January 26, 2023). "POLITICO Playbook: Why this debt ceiling showdown is different". Politico . Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  10. ↑ Lazine, Mira (March 20, 2024). "Gay Trumper almost got hired by the GOP, but it got called off. What happened?". LGBTQ Nation . Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  11. ↑ Parker, Stacy (September 30, 2016). "Someone tried to derail the "Trump Train" in Virginia Beach. But supporters aren't backing down". The Virginian-Pilot . Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  12. ↑ Lazine, Mira (March 20, 2024). "Gay Trumper almost got hired by the GOP, but it got called off. What happened?". LGBTQ Nation . Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Levine, Jon (March 5, 2017). "They're Here, They're Queer and They're For Trump: Gays for Trump Rally Around the Country". Mediaite . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Sherman, William (January 24, 2017). "Amid anti-Trump protests, one LGBTQ group celebrated". NBC News. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  15. 1 2 "ACT for America sets its sights on college campuses with upcoming speaking tour". Southern Poverty Law Center. October 9, 2018. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  16. ↑ Pertwee, Ed (October 2017). 'Green Crescent, Crimson Cross': The Transatlantic 'Counterjihad' and the New Political Theology (PDF). London School of Economics. p. 9. doi: 10.21953/lse.xx0e1p4w3f3y .
  17. 1 2 Vance, Bryan M. (May 31, 2017). "Portland June 10 March Against Sharia Canceled". Portland: Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  18. ↑ McNamara, Neal (June 7, 2017). "Seattle 'Anti-Sharia' March Shines Spotlight On Islamophobia". Seattle: Patch.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  19. ↑ Hayden, Michael Edison (June 12, 2017). "US civil rights groups worry anti-Muslim sentiment is fueling right-wing extremism". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Goot, Michael (August 23, 2021). "Stefanik under fire for holding event with anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist" . The Post-Star . Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  21. ↑ Schuster, Steve (March 21, 2023). "Sparks fly at Tuesday's battleground state's swing seat Supreme Court debate". Wisconsin Law Journal . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  22. ↑ Hananoki, Eric (August 23, 2021). "Updated: Rep. Elise Stefanik is partnering with QAnon conspiracy theorist Scott Presler". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  23. ↑ Munson, Emilie (February 18, 2019). "Virginian linked to hate group will hold "activism" seminar in New Milford". Connecticut Post . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  24. 1 2 O'Neill, Tara (April 5, 2019). "Protest announced ahead of Scott Presler event in Kent". The News-Times . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  25. ↑ Friedmann, Meghan; O'Neill, Tara (April 6, 2019). "Kent residents protest controversial speaker". The News-Times . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  26. ↑ Condon, Christine (August 5, 2019). "After Trump's tweets, conservative activist leads neighborhood cleanup in West Baltimore". The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  27. 1 2 Pitts, Elizabeth (November 10, 2019). "Cleanup activist, Trump supporter rallies groups to get out and vote". West Hawaii Today . pp.  1A, 7A. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ Plachta, Ariella (February 7, 2020). "Councilman David Ryu explores safe parking site at former Sherman Oaks homeless encampment". Los Angeles Daily News . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  29. ↑ Ambrose, Graham (December 6, 2019). "Schilling staff invited Fuentes". Quad-City Times . pp.  A1, A6. Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Loewy, Tom (December 6, 2019). "Bettendorf neighbors speak out against 'hate propaganda' that appeared the morning after a controversial forum" . The Dispatch–Argus . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  31. ↑ Breland, Ali (November 7, 2020). "Meet the right-wing trolls behind "Stop The Steal"". Mother Jones . Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  32. ↑ Mark, Julian (February 2, 2020). "Pro-Trump rally sparks clash at Women's Building in SF's Mission". Mission Local . San Francisco. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  33. ↑ Routh, Julian (March 7, 2020). "Trump supporters announce two events in the Pittsburgh area next week" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Archived from the original on March 28, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  34. ↑ Dwyer, Mimi; Borter, Gabriella (November 5, 2020). "Protests heat up as counting drags on in cliffhanger U.S. election". Phoenix: Reuters. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  35. ↑ Gleiter, Dan (November 6, 2020). "Second 'Stop the Steal' rally once again calls for fair vote count in battleground state Pa". PennLive . Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  36. 1 2 3 Gavin, Robert (August 20, 2021). "Stefanik touts appearance of ex-strategist for group called anti-Muslim". Times Union . Albany, New York. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  37. 1 2 3 Liberatore, Wendy (August 23, 2021). "Saratoga Springs vigil to counter Presler's GOP voter registration drive" . Times Union . Albany, New York. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  38. ↑ Mencimer, Stephanie (January 6, 2023). "The rise and fall of Stop the Steal's favorite conference". Mother Jones . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  39. 1 2 3 Bauer, Scott (March 23, 2023). "Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate OK with Jan. 6 participant". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  40. ↑ Steakin, Will; Cathey, Libby (February 24, 2021). "CPAC to put 2020 election claims center stage just weeks after Capitol attack". ABC News. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  41. ↑ Eidler, Scott; LaRocco, Paul; Ferrette, Candice (February 4, 2023). "How George Santos benefited from sister's Rise NY PAC". Newsday . New York. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  42. ↑ "PAC run by George Santos' sister spent heavily on salaries, fees for Santos associates, records show". Newsday . February 4, 2023. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  43. ↑ Liberatore, Wendy (August 24, 2021). "Lightning-rod Trump supporter Scott Presler's rally canceled in Wilton" . Times Union . Albany, New York. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  44. ↑ Goot, Michael (August 25, 2021). "GOP has second thoughts". The Post-Star . pp.  A1, A4. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  45. ↑ Layne, Nathan (December 6, 2022). "Senate candidates make last pitch in Georgia midterm election runoff". Cumming, Georgia: Reuters. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved April 1, 2023.
  46. 1 2 Hounshell, Blake (December 13, 2022). "Inside the Battle for Control of the Republican National Committee" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  47. 1 2 Hess, Corrinne (March 23, 2023). "Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly says he's not bothered by association with 'stop the steal' activist, Jan. 6 participant Scott Presler". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
  48. ↑ Astor, Maggie (April 6, 2023). "5 Lessons for Democrats From Victories in Wisconsin and Chicago" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  49. ↑ Dixon, Matt (March 19, 2024). "Scott Presler, a conservative activist who has spread conspiracy theories, won't be getting an RNC job". NBC News . Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  50. ↑ Mendick, Robert (October 15, 2024). "For decades, the Amish have declined to vote – that could all change (and it's because of milk)". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  51. ↑ Roth, Fallon (October 13, 2024). "MAGA influencer Scott Presler brought his GOP voter registration message to Bucks County during a Trump-Kennedy unity event". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  52. ↑ Itkowitz, Colby (November 3, 2024). "A Pennsylvania county finds itself at the center of an election denial storm". The Washington Post . Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania . Retrieved November 10, 2024.
  53. ↑ "Trump: Transgender people 'can't serve' in US military". BBC News. July 26, 2017. Archived from the original on July 26, 2017. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  54. ↑ Kight, Stef W. (July 26, 2017). "How LGBTQ Trump supporters reacted to his military transgender ban". Axios . Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  55. ↑ Reed, Erin (July 3, 2023). "Gay & Trans Republicans shocked DeSantis now targeting them". Los Angeles Blade . Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  56. ↑ "'Don't Say Gay' bill signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis". Associated Press. March 28, 2022. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
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