How The Trump Campaign Has Enabled The White Nationalists Planning To Suppress The Black Vote

White nationalists are claiming that they plan to suppress black voters on Election Day in an attempt to elect Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The Trump campaign has enabled the two main groups involved in the voter suppression effort by previously retweeting them and justifying an anti-Semitic campaign against a reporter. 

White Nationalists Want To Suppress Black Voters On Election Day

White Nationalists Are Supporting Trump And See Him As Their “Last Stand.” [Media Matters, 8/8/16]

Politico: White Nationalists Are Planning “To Monitor Urban Polling Places And Suppress The Black Vote.” Politico reported that white nationalist media such as The Daily Stormer, The Right Stuff, and writer William Johnson are planning to suppress the black vote on Election Day:

Neo-Nazi leader Andrew Anglin plans to muster thousands of poll-watchers across all 50 states. His partners at the alt-right website “the Right Stuff” are touting plans to set up hidden cameras at polling places in Philadelphia and hand out liquor and marijuana in the city’s “ghetto” on Election Day to induce residents to stay home. The National Socialist Movement, various factions of the Ku Klux Klan and the white nationalist American Freedom Party all are deploying members to watch polls, either “informally” or, they say, through the Trump campaign.

[…]

In an email, Anglin, the editor of the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer website, said he had already led a “big voter registration drive” and that he was “sending an army of Alt-Right nationalists to watch the polls.” Anglin said he was working in conjunction with the alt-right website TheRightStuff.Biz.

A representative of that site wrote in an email: “We are organizing poll watchers in urban areas to cut down on the most traditional type of voter fraud. We also will have stationary cameras hidden at polling locations in Philadelphia, to monitor anyone that comes in to vote and make sure that the same people are not voting at multiple locations. If we see people voting in multiple locations the footage will be submitted to the FEC as well as put out on social media to undermine the legitimacy of Clinton should she steal the election.”

[…]

William Johnson, the chairman of American Freedom party and an advocate of deporting non-whites from the United States, said his party members were working through Trump’s operation rather than organizing their own efforts.

“We have some of our members that are doing poll-watching, but they’re not doing it as American Freedom Party members,” he said. “They’re doing it through the Trump campaign.”

“We have a lot of people that are involved with the get-out-the-vote through the various Trump organizations,” said the Los Angeles-based Johnson, who added that the party’s California members were focused on aiding the Trump campaign in Nevada. [Politico, 11/2/16]

Trump Campaign Has Enabled And Encouraged Hate Groups Like Daily Stormer And Right Stuff

Trump And His Campaign Have Had A Disturbing Relationship With White Nationalists. White nationalists haven't only praised Trump from afar, they've rubbed elbows with the campaign. Trump himself has repeatedly retweeted white nationalist messages and accounts, such as “WhiteGenocideTM.” Trump surrogates have directly courted white nationalists by giving interviews to white nationalist media outlets. A “pro-white” radio host received press credentials to cover a Trump rally and the Republican National Convention. [Media Matters, 8/18/16]

Trump Justified Anti-Semitic Campaign Led By Daily Stormer. Reporter Julia Ioffe wrote a profile of Melania Trump for GQ which Melania Trump criticized as unfair. The Daily Stormer responded to Ioffe’s piece by directing followers to “go ahead and send her a tweet and let her know what you think of her dirty kike trickery.” During a May interview, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Trump if he would denounce anti-Semitic death threats against Ioffe. Trump refused to condemn the threats, saying he was unaware of them and adding, “I don’t have a message to the fans. A woman wrote a article that was inaccurate.” Anglin responded to Trump’s remarks by writing, “Asked by the disgusting and evil Jewish parasite Wolf Blitzer to denounce the Stormer Troll Army, The Glorious Leader declined. … Hail Victory, Comrades.” [Media Matters, 5/6/16]

Trump Senior Adviser Promoted Right Stuff’s Trump Endorsement. A.J. Delgado, a senior adviser to Republican nominee Donald Trump, retweeted a Trump endorsement from The Right Stuff in October. The Right Stuff tweeted: “At this point anyone not insane enough to want a war with Russia should vote Trump.” The tweet prior to the message that Delgado retweeted was an anti-Semitic attack on Republican strategist Dan Senor. [Media Matters, 10/11/16]

Trump Campaign Selected William Johnson As A Convention Delegate. As Mother Jones noted, the Trump campaign selected “William Johnson, one of the country's most prominent white nationalists,” as a convention delegate from California. Johnson later resigned following criticism, and the Trump campaign blamed a “database error” on the selection. [Mother Jones, 5/10/16]

Trump Campaign Has Accepted Donations From Johnson. The Trump campaign accepted a $250 donation in September 2015 from Johnson and returned it after Media Matters and People for the American Way criticized Trump. However, Johnson subsequently donated more money to the Trump campaign that reportedly has not been returned. The Daily Beast reported in October 2016:

According to FEC filings, Johnson contributed $1,000 on June 22, 2016 and an additional $500 on June 28. Both of these have yet to refunded according to the filings.

When asked about the contributions, Johnson told The Daily Beast he thought had given even more than the documented amount.

“I donated more than $1,500,” he said in an email. “I think I am near the max of $2,500. I paid by credit card and I don't keep my personal accounts, so I don’t know for sure, but I have given on many occasions.” [Media Matters, 3/11/16; The Daily Beast, 10/31/16]

For more on the Trump campaign’s history with the white nationalist movement and how it’s enabled their racism, go here.