Pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA (TPUSA) announced this week that it has severed ties with one of its brand ambassadors following a picture of her at a dinner over the weekend with accused anti-Semites and white nationalists.
A spokesperson confirmed on Monday to Right Wing Watch, a project of People for the American Way, which monitors far-right activities and content, that Ashley St. Clair is no longer part of TPUSA.
“TPUSA is a large national organization that touches hundreds of thousands of people all across the nation,” said the spokesperson. “Ashley is no longer one of our thousands of volunteer activists and ambassadors. [Founder and executive director] Charlie [Kirk] and TPUSA have repeatedly and publicly denounced white nationalism as abhorrent and un-American and will continue to do so.”
The spokesperson also noted that St. Clair wasn’t representing the organization while she was photographed.
This morning, Turning Point USA severed its relationship with a brand ambassador who was photographed at a dinner where white nationalists were present.https://t.co/VDHmNnuVab
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) September 30, 2019
St. Clair, who is Jewish, attended a dinner held after a debate between anti-Semitic and white-nationalist podcaster Nicholas Fuentes, who attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., and conspiracy theorist Jacob Wohl.
St. Clair, who wasn’t at the debate, attended what she told Right Wing Watch was a “diverse dinner.”
“I did attend a diverse dinner I was invited to in which I got to give voice to some of the anger I’ve had in the past,” she said. “Some of the people pictured had been vicious to me online, and I’m not above confronting people or forgiving people. I’m a strong Jewish woman and don’t need to be told where I can and cannot go.”
“I’m sick of guilt-by-association Twitter journalism that leaves out all context and meaning. The focus of the dinner was civility,” she added. “I’m not accountable for anything anyone else posts online, and I myself have been a victim of bigoted trolling. Attending a dinner for a civil conversation is not an endorsement for anybody’s views.”
Along with Fuentes and St. Clair, Tim Gionet—better known by his alt-right moniker “Baked Alaska”—was pictured. Gionet and Fuentes both have a history of anti-Semitic social-media posts.
TPUSA has a history of severing ties with staffers and other members for racist behavior. It also has a past of its leaders, including former spokesperson Candace Owens, making controversial remarks.
