A Republican mayor candidate in Tennessee recently praised a man who described himself as a "Nazi" saying that he's "such a cool guy" for speaking his mind on different issues.
Franklin County mayoral candidate and current Alderman Gabrielle Hanson recently spoke on the Patriot Punkcast podcast about Brad Lewis, a man who is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white supremacist.
"Brad's just Brad—and I think that's what makes him such a cool guy," Hanson said during the podcast. "Because he doesn't care about what people think. He's just himself."
Earlier this year, Lewis responded to criticism he received from the Southern Poverty Law Center and said, "I'm not a cuckservative, I'm an actual literal Nazi," according to 90.3 WLPN news.
The comments by Hanson came just ahead of voting in Franklin County, where she is currently running for mayor against incumbent Mayor Ken Moore. According to The Tennessean, as of Tuesday morning, over 10,000 residents in Franklin cast their vote for the mayoral race.
Prior to her comments this week, Hanson faced controversy after she was accused of bringing members of the Tennessee Active Club to a forum, including Lewis. The Tennessee Active Club has been named as a white supremacist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Shortly after the forum, The Tennessean reported that Franklin's Board of Mayor and Aldermen issued a statement condemning Hanson's actions. "We, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, are deeply concerned and disturbed by the events that unfolded at Monday night's candidate forum for the upcoming city election...Individuals identifying as neo-Nazi's and self-admitted supporters of Gabrielle Hanson threatened both our citizens and members of the media during and after this important civic event."
According to MSNBC, Hanson responded on social media saying, "I did not hire the group that showed up at the debate the other night, nor did I ask them to participate as security for the event."
"Furthermore, I want to state categorically that I am not, nor have I ever been associated with any white supremacy or Nazi-affiliated group," Hanson added in her response.
However, while speaking with the Patriot Punkcast earlier this month, Lewis spoke about his appearance at the forum saying, "I'm tired of being a lackey or cannon fodder for politicians that, you know, they want your help—then, when the heat gets turned up on them, then they are going to throw you under the bus," WTVF in Nashville reported.
"If you want our help, we'll help you but just don't throw us under the bus if the heat gets turned up a little bit," Lewis added.
Newsweek reached out Hanson via email for comment.
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