IREHR’s report, Breaching the Mainstream, was cited in Source NM;
Author Andrew Beale writes, “A report from the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights found 875 sitting state lawmakers are current or former members of extremist or conspiracy-minded Facebook groups, including 12 New Mexico legislators.”
Beale continues, “All of the NM legislators identified in the report are Republicans. The report notes that there may be more legislators across the country who are members of these groups that were not identified in the progressive think tank’s research.”
Chuck Tanner, IREHR’s Research Director, was quoted by Source NM;
“It doesn’t always mean (the legislators) completely believe it. But they have to recognize that they lend some of their legitimacy to those groups.” Tanner Said
“They’re a group that has paramilitary politics. That right away should throw up a flag to a state legislator. They also have allied their cause to anti-immigrant politics,” Said Tanner. “A state legislator with any integrity would have no part of that.”
“You really got this reactionary and racist attack against even diversity programs in public schools and other institutions,” he said. “I think that attacking those kinds of programs undermines equality in this country, and that’s a human-rights issue.”
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