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‘Pizzagate’ Figures Defended by GOP’s Mandel Started Super PAC
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Two right-wing activists that Ohio Republican Josh Mandel defended this summer against labeling by an anti-hate group have launched a super PAC backing his bid for U.S. Senate.
Mike Cernovich and Jack Posobiec are among founders of the political action committee launched Monday.
Both men were involved in the conspiracy theory dubbed “pizzagate,” which suggested Hillary Clinton was running a pedophile ring out of a pizzeria.
Mandel, Ohio’s state treasurer, retweeted a Twitter post by Cernovich in July that accused the Anti-Defamation League of “inciting terrorism” with a report identifying members of the “alt-right” and “alt-lite” movements.
It identified Cernovich and Posobiec as “alt-lite,” which the ADL defines as rejecting overtly white supremacist ideology but embracing misogyny and xenophobia.
Mandel seeks to challenge Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown next year.