Gay, Black Republican to Release 'Receipts' on MAGA

A gay and Black Republican influencer who accused conservatives of shouting slurs at him at an event last year said he may release "receipts" on MAGA.

Rob Smith, an Army veteran, shared a video on social media in December that he said showed him at an event in Phoenix being "confronted and surrounded by some White Supremacists that don't like gays or blacks in the Republican Party." He said the group hurled racist and homophobic slurs at him, and he later told CNN he was a victim of a hate crime.

On March 14, Smith called out conservative pundits for not reaching out to him to share his story, accusing the MAGA movement of "cult behavior" for being upset with him over the CNN Interview. He also responded to a critic who suggested it may have been Democrats behind the slurs.

"Those people were not pretend Republicans or Antifa types they were all involved with @RNRenewal (and direct ties to other orgs) and I have many more receipts to back it up which will be released in the coming weeks," Smith wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter.

Smith said the slurs were made at an event hosted by Republicans for National Renewal, a conservative advocacy group. The identities of those seen in the video shouting slurs at Smith remain unknown, and it has not been confirmed that the advocacy group was involved.

The organization responded to Smith's comments in a statement to Newsweek.

"Harassment of any attendees at our events is not permitted or condoned. The individuals involved were members of the public without any association with us, and we were actively involved in diffusing the situation and ensuring attendee safety. These sort of actions are not welcome at our events and individuals involved will be excluded from future events."

When an X user said they would look into who supports the group's 501(c)(4)—referring to the tax code designation for social welfare organizations—Smith said, "It would be very interesting to look into that," adding that he may have information about the individuals he said harassed him.

"In fact, I may have had someone doing just that! I may have had someone looking into LOTS of things about those who participated in the harassment. Some of whom REALLY don't need any legal trouble!" Smith wrote.

Following the incident, Smith said he was in Phoenix for Turning Point USA's AmericaFest. In the caption of the video he posted to X on December 18, he wrote: "Last night in Phoenix, I was confronted and surrounded by some White Supremacists that don't like gays or blacks in the Republican Party. They shouted 'n*****' and 'f*****' at me to make their point. However, I served in Iraq. I never back down. Ever."

Turning Point USA condemned the actions of those accused of shouting slurs at Smith.

"These people started yelling disgusting slurs at him. He responded well and held his ground, but this should have never happened to Rob. What's captured in the video posted by Rob is truly abhorrent, disgusting behavior and it's unacceptable anyone should have to endure that type of treatment," the conservative organization said in a statement.

During a CNN interview after the incident, Smith said he opted to de-escalate the situation rather than defend himself against the group, and that he felt the confrontation could have become deadly.

"I'm looking at soulless dead-eyed white supremacists that, by the way, I felt that these people could have bashed my brains in had they gotten the chance," he said. "I deal with these people in real life. And I know for a fact where they're coming from. I know that a lot of these people have infiltrated these conservative organizations from top to bottom."

Update 3/18/24, 11:10 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.