SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitman County GOP executive committee is considering taking action after a controversial former Washington State University College Republicans president was elected to a position in the party.
James Allsup posted on Facebook he was elected as the Republican Party Precinct Committee Officer for Precinct 129.
He resigned from his WSU College Republicans position after traveling to Virginia last August for the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville that turned violent. At the time, the College Republican National Committee released a statement condemning white supremacy and terrorism in Charlottesville, and calling on College Republican leaders who supported the event to resign.
Tuesday, Whitman County GOP state committeeman Art Swannack explained Allsup did not have competition for the position and he still must be confirmed before his term starts January 1.
“Normally, there isn’t an issue, but in this case, I think that there are extenuating circumstances,” Swannack said. “His past is well known in the party so I imagine it will come up.”
He said the local executive committee is looking at their schedules to plan a meeting in the near future to talk about the situation.
Allsup did not return KREM 2’s request for comment, but spoke on an Identity Evropa podcast about his recent political activity.
“I am now an elected official down here where I live in Whitman County. You have a seat at the table, and that is the most important thing, is getting a seat at the table,” he said in a June 2 podcast.
“Especially the older people that are in charge of these political parties recognize that the guard is changing…that young people are going to be stepping in to fill the void,” Allsup said in the podcast. “And a lot of them are terrified that we’re going to be the ones doing it. Unfortunately for them, we’re going to be.”
Photos from Allsup's Instagram show he also spoke at an Identity Evropa conference in March.
Identity Evropa is an organization “people of European heritage located in the United States,” that the Southern Poverty Law Center categorizes as white nationalist.
“Rather than denigrating people of color, the campus-based organization focuses on raising white racial consciousness, building community based on shared racial identity and intellectualizing white supremacist ideology,” the SPLC wrote in their description of the organization.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represents Whitman County in Congress, said she was disappointed to hear of Allsup's new position.
"White supremacy, racism, and bigotry are never acceptable and have no place in America or Eastern Washington," she wrote on Facebook. "Bridging divides within our communities must not include space for individuals who promote, condone, or participate in racism and violence."
The Spokane County GOP also released a statement.
News of Allsup’s new position made several national outlets including The Hill and the Daily Beast.
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