John Mandt Jr, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, resigned on Sunday after a number of conversations containing homophobic and anti-Muslim slurs appeared on social media. Mandt’s remarks were made in a private online group called “The ‘Right’ Stuff.”
The Register Herald reports: “Mandt has denied their authenticity and said they’re fabricated. ‘Everything electronic can be fabricated. It’s by design, my family, my business are being attacked,’ Mandt wrote in the deleted Facebook post, in which he said he received threats. In a statement issued by the House of Delegates on Saturday night, Mandt said that after talking with Hanshaw, ‘Right now, my focus and priority needs to be on my family and business, and feel it is best at this time to terminate my campaign and make room (for) other individuals to serve the state.’ The group message thread shows bigoted comments against gay people and Muslims. At one point, Mandt allegedly used a homophobic slur. According to the civil rights advocacy group Fairness West Virginia, Mandt also disparaged other Republican state lawmakers who supported LGBTQ legislation.”
