Trump-aligned GOP senator suggests far-right masked hate group is a 'false flag operation'
U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), an ally to Donald Trump, is the latest Republican to disavow the Patriot Front, an often-masked organization that has been labeled a right-wing and white supremacist hate group.
Lee took to social media on Saturday to question the legitimacy of the conservative marchers. The senator earlier in the day was taking heat for falling for a hoax about President Joe Biden having some kind of a "medical emergency" while on Air Force One on Friday.
"I’ve never heard of this group," he said on Saturday. "Any chance this is a false flag operation?"
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He continued: "I’d love to know — does anyone out there know anyone who is part of this group? Has anyone ever heard of it?"
Lee went on to say the group had "so much uniformity."
"It hardly has the feel of a grassroots, patriotic group," the lawmaker added. "I don’t think I’ve never seen one that looks or acts like this."
Lee went even further, suggesting the individuals were actually Democrats.
"One of America’s two major political parties long had a violent, militant, enforcement operation," he said. "Its members covered their faces. They did bad stuff. Truly evil things. To promote their party."
He concluded, "I’d rather not say which party. Hint: it was not the Republican Party."
Lee's remarks come just about six months after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fellow Republican Trump ally, disavowed Patriot Front "marching all around in their stupid masks."