Congressman suggests Charlottesville rally was 'created by the left'

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., suggested without evidence that a billionaire known for promoting progressive causes may have funded the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., during an interview with Vice News published Thursday. 

Gosar said the Charlottesville rally, which led to the death of one counter-protester, could have been “created by the left” and that “George Soros is one of those individuals that helps back these individuals.” 

The congressman made the comments during an interview focused on a lawsuit against him by a constituent who says Gosar violated her First Amendment rights when he blocked her on Facebook. 

Gosar said Unite the Right organizer Jason Kessler was an “Obama sympathizer.” Kessler confessed to holding liberal allegiances in the past — including voting for Obama and participating in Occupy Wall Street — but he has also expressed strong concerns about immigration and the threat of “white genocide.” 

More: Trump supporters target George Soros over protests

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Gosar said billionaire investor George Soros “is one of those people that actually helps back these individuals. Who is he? I think he’s from Hungary. I think he was Jewish. And I think he turned in his own people to the Nazis.” 

When asked directly if he thought Soros funded the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Gosar said, “Wouldn’t it be interesting to find out?”

There is no evidence to support the theory. Gosar is echoing talking points that have been spouted by right-wing conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones, who tends to see the work of George Soros behind everything. 

“George Soros survived the Nazi occupation of Hungary, and he has spent his life supporting efforts to ensure that such terrifying authoritarianism never takes root again,” a spokeswoman for Soros’ Open Society Foundation told Vice News. 

“He was 14 years old when the war ended. He did not collaborate with the Nazis. He did not help round up people. He did not confiscate anybody’s property. Such baseless allegations are insulting to the victims of the Holocaust, to all Jewish people, and to anyone who honors the truth. It is an affront to Mr. Soros and his family, who against the odds managed to survive one of the darkest moments in our history.” 

More: Rep. Paul Gosar: Roll back DACA

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