Gillespie’s racist ad tries to scare VA voters with photo of locked-up gang members in El Salvador.
Virginia doesn’t even technically have any so-called “sanctuary cities” to ban in the first place. In fact, at the first gubernatorial debate, Ed Gillespie admitted Virginia doesn’t have “sanctuary cities.” But that didn’t stop the Republican gubernatorial nominee from grabbing the white supremacist baton from failed Virginia candidate Corey Stewart to release one of the most racist ads in recent political memory. Daily Kos Elections:
Gillespie’s new spot essentially equates “dangerous illegal immigrants”—itself a racist anti-Latino trope—with MS-13, a dangerous and violent street gang that actually heavily targets undocumented Latinos. The ad further equates Democrat Ralph Northam’s vote against prohibiting “sanctuary cities” with “increasing the threat of MS-13.” It uses photos of imprisoned MS-13 members and flashes the gang’s “Kill, Rape, Control” motto across the screen in a positively Willie Horton-esque attempt to stoke racially charged fears among Virginia voters.
Who knew that Iowa’s Steve King was suddenly in the ad-making business in Virginia? Aside from being racist bullshit, the vigilant eyes at ThinkProgress note the ad is chock full of lies. Not only was the photo of the scary brown men stolen from an El Salvador newspaper, they’re not even MS-13 gang members, but Barrio 18 gang members who were photographed inside an El Salvador prison in 2012. Wow, that Gillespie sure works fast to get rid of the “bad hombres.”
As America’s Voice’s Virginia state director Julio Lainez and Daily Kos’s Carolyn Fiddler have noted, so-called sanctuary cities aren’t even a major issue for Virginia voters, but Gillespie is trumping up on the racist attacks because “Gillespie is terrified.” He barely squeaked out a win over Confederate fanatic Stewart, and despite distancing himself from Donald Trump in the past, he’s now embracing both: