Wife of Supreme Court justice gives notorious conservative sting-op mastermind an award for 'defending liberty'

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

• The wife of a Supreme Court justice honored James O'Keefe, the conservative provocateur known for conducting undercover sting operations against liberals, with an award for "defending liberty."
• Other conservative thought leads were honored as well, including Fox News host Sean Hannity.
• The award comes a week after The Washington Post reported on O'Keefe's failed attempt to disgrace the newspaper with a fake story.

Virginia Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, presented an award to conservative provocateur James O'Keefe on Wednesday for going "above and beyond in the defense of liberty."

Thomas extended the honor to a handful of other conservative thought leaders as well, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk, and Judicial Watch President Thomas Fitton.

United for Purpose, an organization whose mission is "to unite and equip conservatives in the promotion of Judeo-Christian principles" hosted the event at the Trump International Hotel in DC.

"The leaders we lift up today to be honored for the Impact Awards are the bravest, most effective, most dedicated, determined warriors defending the values that are the real strength of America," Thomas said. "They have shown moral courage in the face of desperate times."

O'Keefe made headlines last month after The Washington Post reported on his failed attempt to disgrace some of that newspaper's reporters.

The sting operation failed when the Post discovered that a woman who posed as a victim of Roy Moore — the embattled Republican Alabama Senate candidate whose campaign has been roiled by multiple allegations of sexual misconduct — was actually working for O'Keefe's Project Veritas.

O'Keefe is famous for leading undercover sting operations against media personalities, left-leaning organizations, and liberals, although he has a long history of those attempts backfiring.

NOW WATCH: The 4 best memes from Trump's trip to Asia