A conservative candidate who is running to replace House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) attacked a director at a libertarian-oriented group -- who happens to be Jewish -- on Twitter, saying he is only "pretending to be white" for nefarious reasons.
Far-right candidate Paul Nehlen took offense this week after Foundation for Individual Rights in Education director Ari Cohn tweeted about “Twitter Nazis,” according to a report at The Daily Banter.
In the back and forth, Cohn wrote, "Sometimes Twitter Nazis remind me that I am Jewish. As if my last name would ever let me forget," later adding, "I am ... white," before pointing out to Nehlen that he was the recipient of anti-Semitic comments from one of Nehlen's followers.
Nehlen responded by calling Cohn a "bigot," writing, "Just admit you are a (((bigot))) @aricohn and I'll pretend you didn't pretend you were white for the purposes of starting a race war w me."
"It's okay to be white," Nehlen then tweeted. "It's not okay to pretend to be for purposes of undermining whites. But you knew that."
Cohn fired right back, tweeting: "You are unhinged. It has nothing to do with the fact that you're white. It has everything to do with the fact that you're an asshole. Get a grip, get some help."
You can see the tweets below, along with Cohn documenting Nehlen's history of racism and responses from Nehlen's fans:
Sometimes, Twitter Nazis decide to remind me that I'm Jewish. As if my name would ever let me forget.— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513622104.0
"Prostrating yourself for another race" And you deny you're a white nationalist? I mentioned Jews because you do… https://t.co/3fiWOyUHw6— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513629831.0
Part 1 of 5: Yesterday, I called @pnehlen a bigot and a racist. He denied the allegation. In the midst of said deni… https://t.co/0CTYJ6rxsm— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513707157.0
Part 2 of 5: Yesterday, I called @pnehlen a bigot and a racist. He denied the allegation. In the midst of said deni… https://t.co/BkuHsQNQy0— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513707173.0
Part 3 of 5: Yesterday, I called @pnehlen a bigot and a racist. He denied the allegation. In the midst of said deni… https://t.co/SU1mnxaWjO— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513707200.0
Part 4 of 5: Yesterday, I called @pnehlen a bigot and a racist. He denied the allegation. In the midst of said deni… https://t.co/HsY8Cl5oyv— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513707229.0
Part 5 of 5: Yesterday, I called @pnehlen a bigot and a racist. He denied the allegation. In the midst of said deni… https://t.co/tHA6JHol7P— Ari Cohn (@Ari Cohn) 1513707250.0
(H/T The Daily Banter)
