Representative Rod Blum of Iowa’s first district was asked if he was a part of a “Tea Party” Facebook group. In response, he shared the reporter’s contact information — including his private cell phone number — with the world.
The reporter, Ryan J, Foley of the Associated Press, was looking into allegations that Blum was a member of the “Tea Party” group on Facebook, which has been known for posting racist messages.
Foley had reached out to a spokesperson for Blum, Alexah Rogge, about the representative’s involvement in the group, asking if his involvement in the group could be explained.
Blum took to Twitter to reply to Foley, attaching a complete screen shot of Foley’s inquiry, including his email, work address, and cell phone number.
The group itself has been in the news lately, due to its ties to Ron DeSantis, currently a candidate for Florida Governor. DeSantis is under fire for saying that voting for his opponent, Andrew Gillum, would “monkey this up.” Gillum is black.
The group features a header image displaying a number of flags, including the United States flag, a Gadsen “Don’t Tread On Me” flag, a Christian flag, the flag of Israel, and a confederate battle flag.
It also features a large number of racist posts, including ones calling Black Lives Matter members “vermin” and declaring the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville that claimed the life of Heather Heyer a “media hoax.”
DeSantis, via a campaign spokesperson, Stephen Lawson, claims that he was unaware he was a member and has since left the group. DeSantis had never posted to the group.
Others in conservative circles, such as Arizona state senator Kelli Ward — who recently lost her bid to win the Republican nomination for the seat held by U.S. Senator Jeff Flake, who is not seeking re-election — embrace the group. Ward promoted it on her own Facebook page.
In recent months, members of the press have faced increased danger from those embracing President Donald Trump’s vies of the press as an “enemy of the people.” Last Thursday, a California man was arrested for threatening violence against the Boston Globe in reaction to the paper’s response to Trump.
Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license
This article has been updated to correctly identify the seat for which Ward was running.