Kelly Loeffler Poses With Former KKK Leader, Now Claims She Had No Idea

Two days after Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) posed for a photo with former Ku Klux Klan leader Chester Doles, leading to outcry from Jewish activists, Loefflers campaign insisted Sunday that she had no idea who Doles was.

But Doles profile as a white supremacist was prominent enough that he was ejected from a campaign rally in September featuring Loeffler and Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Loeffler claimed then as well that she wasnt aware of any controversy linked to Doles.

Bend the Arc , a progressive Jewish advocacy group, retweeted a photo Saturday of Loeffler smiling next to Doles. The photo was taken Friday at a campaign event. Doles had posted the photo with a caption that read in part: Save America, stop Socialism!

Doles spent decades as a member of the KKK (and led a faction in Maryland ) and the neo-Nazi National Alliance, the Journal-Constitution reported. Hes a convicted felon who was sentenced to prison for the 1993 beating of a Black man, according to The Baltimore Sun .

This is who [Loeffler] is proudly appealing to, Bend the Arcs Twitter account posted.

Loeffler is once again trying to distance herself from someone who is a known white supremacist, said a statement from the campaign of Rev. Raphael Warnock , Loefflers Democratic rival in one of Georgias two upcoming Senate runoffs . Theres no acceptable explanation for it happening once, let alone a second time, the statement added, referring to the September rally.

The communications director for Democrat Jon Ossoff , who is challenging Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in the other runoff, tweeted: This is Georgias GOP . The twin runoffs, scheduled for Jan. 5, will determine which party controls the Senate for at least two years.

Stephen Lawson, a spokesperson for Loefflers campaign, told the Journal-Constitution that the senator had no idea who Doles was. Had she known, she would have kicked him out immediately because we condemn in the most vociferous terms everything that he stands for, Lawson said.

Doles told The Associated Press on Sunday that he has renounced racism on several occasions in the past couple of years.

ALERT: Kelly Loeffler just posed for a photo with Chester Doles, a former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA.

In 1993, Doles nearly beat a Black man to death.

In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville.

This is who @KLoeffler is proudly appealing to. pic.twitter.com/4YZcvL05rf

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Bend the Arc: Jewish Action","author_url":"https://twitter.com/jewishaction","cache_age":86400,"description":"ALERT: Kelly Loeffler just posed for a photo with Chester Doles, a former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA.In 1993, Doles nearly beat a Black man to death.In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville.This is who @KLoeffler is proudly appealing to. pic.twitter.com/4YZcvL05rf Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":709,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EpFgF6hXcAM06n-.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":498,"title":"Bend the Arc: Jewish Action on 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ALERT: Kelly Loeffler just posed for a photo with Chester Doles, a former KKK leader who runs the white supremacist American Patriots USA.

In 1993, Doles nearly beat a Black man to death.

In 2017, he marched in Charlottesville.

This is who @KLoeffler is proudly appealing to. pic.twitter.com/4YZcvL05rf
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020

Loeffler, who co-owns the Atlanta Dream WNBA team, said in July that she was adamantly opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement after the basketball league dedicated its season to supporting it.

The senator, who paints herself as a Second Amendment supporter, has also said that Black protesters who legally carried guns during a demonstration in the state were practicing mob rule.

Pressed on her controversial statements in a debate against Warnock earlier this month, Loeffler insisted: There is not a racist bone in my body.

"There is not a racist bone in my body" -- Kelly Loeffler pic.twitter.com/6mwup9PKyS
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 7, 2020

Bend the Arc said that Loeffler doesnt get to plead ignorance about Doles twice.

Kelly Loefflers campaign claims she didnt know who Chester Doles is.

But he was removed from a Loeffler & Marjorie Taylor Greene rally in September and Loeffler said the same thing then.

Doesnt work twice. @KLoeffler is embracing white supremacy.https://t.co/CkktqbIgrb

Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Bend the Arc: Jewish Action","author_url":"https://twitter.com/jewishaction","cache_age":86400,"description":"Kelly Loefflers campaign claims she didnt know who Chester Doles is.But he was removed from a Loeffler & Marjorie Taylor Greene rally in September and Loeffler said the same thing then.Doesnt work twice. @KLoeffler is embracing white supremacy.https://t.co/CkktqbIgrb Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_hide_thread":{"label":"Hide previous Tweet in conversation thread","value":true},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Bend the Arc: Jewish Action on 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Kelly Loefflers campaign claims she didnt know who Chester Doles is.

But he was removed from a Loeffler & Marjorie Taylor Greene rally in September and Loeffler said the same thing then.

Doesnt work twice. @KLoeffler is embracing white supremacy.https://t.co/CkktqbIgrb
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action (@jewishaction) December 13, 2020