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RNC speaker pulled after anti-Semitic messages

RNC speaker pulled after anti-Semitic messages
Posted at 7:50 PM, Aug 25, 2020
and last updated 2020-08-25 20:50:46-04

WASHINGTON (AP) — A speaker who had been scheduled to address the second night of the Republican National Convention has been pulled from the lineup after directing her Twitter followers to a series of anti-Semitic, conspiratorial messages.

Trump campaign spokesperson Tim Murtaugh says, “We have removed the scheduled video from the convention lineup and it will no longer run this week.”

Mary Ann Mendoza had been scheduled to deliver remarks Tuesday night to highlight the president’s fight against illegal immigration. Mendoza’s son was killed in 2014 in a head-on collision by a man who was under the influence and living in the U.S. illegally.

She and and other parents whose children have been killed by people in the country illegally have labeled themselves “Angel Moms” and have made frequent appearances at the White House and Trump campaign events.

Mendoza had apologized for the tweet, writing that she “retweeted a very long thread earlier without reading every post within the thread” and said it “does not reflect my feelings or personal thoughts whatsoever.”

A Republican familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity cited controversy as the reason for pulling Mendoza. The Republican wasn't authorized to speak about the matter publicly.