Known and charged insurrectionist Ryan Kelley isn’t the only Republican candidate for governor with deep ties to the violent display on the U.S. Capitol grounds that killed five and injured 140 officers in Washington D.C. Last week, right-wing performer Ted Nugent threw his support behind Kevin Rinke’s campaign for governor. The out-of-touch millionaire has been demonstrating his commitment to the election conspiracy with a “flat-out false” TV ad broadcasting completely unfounded conspiracy theories about our elections.
Recent reporting from MLive detailed Nugent’s status as a lifetime member of the Oath Keepers, an “far-right anti-government group” noted for playing a “central role” in orchestrating the insurrection. The group’s founder has been charged with seditious conspiracy for plotting to disrupt peaceful transition of power following the 2020 election.
Nugent has been affiliated with the Oath Keepers for nearly a decade.
Like the used Toyota salesman – who has racked up multiple racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuits and referred to Asians as “yellow” just months ago – Nugent is no stranger to deeply offensive comments and inciting violence in his followers.
In 2014, Nugent referred to President Obama as a “subhuman mongrel” and just last month he instructed Trump rally attendees to go “berserk on the skulls of the Democrats and the Marxists and the communists.”
MDP spokesperson Rodericka Applewhaite issued the following statement:
“In the case of this crowded Republican field for governor, the question isn’t if they are deeply connected to the violent insurrection, but how. It should come as no surprise that out-of-touch millionaire Kevin Rinke earned lifetime Oath Keeper Ted Nugent’s blessing. Both have extensive track records littered with deeply offensive comments and have embraced bold-faced election conspiracy theories for the sole purpose of eroding public trust in the democratic process. Michiganders will have no trouble seeing that Rinke’s eagerness to align himself with hateful groups and leaders thoroughly disqualifies him from the governor’s office.”
