Thread by @LivColemanFL

This thread is about the National Federation of Republican Assemblies, its ties to the radical right hub organization the #ShadowNetwork Council for National Policy, & efforts to overturn the 2020 election, particularly in Florida. /1

The National Federation of Republican Assemblies (NFRA) was founded in 1996. That came many years after several state-based Republican Assemblies. California was the first in 1934. /2
nationalrepublicanassemblies.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_…

The California Republican Assembly was known for its support of Barry Goldwater & Ronald Reagan. The National Federation of Republican Assemblies touts Ronald Reagan & Phyllis Schlafly, one of its founding members, as luminaries & inspirations. /3

The NFRA calls itself the “Republican wing of the Republican party,” “the Tea Party before the Tea Party,” & the “conscience of the Republican Party.” They are engaged in GOP primaries recruiting, endorsing & supporting candidates; they aim to take over the party from “RINOs.” /4

NFRA values focus on small government, states’ rights, and local control, gun rights, property rights, pro-life causes, traditional marriage, and traditional family values, according to their October 2021 document. /5

NFRA values include a commitment to a Judeo-Christian foundation, making the NFRA a component of larger Christian Right political networks. /6

The NFRA cites praise of its organization by Republican activists such as former CNP President Paul Pressler, Kellyanne Conway & Morton Blackwell (former CNP members), Jan Brewer, Rand Paul, Dana Rohrabacher, Pat Buchanan, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Duncan Hunter, etc. /7

The NFRA has more of a social conservative & family values focus and less of an isolationist foreign policy focus than the Republican Liberty Caucus. While similarly anti-democratic, it’s also, if possible, less extreme in its policy recommendations. /8

One notable extreme stance of the NFRA is its advocacy for repeal of the 17th amendment, allowing for direct election of US Senators. They want that power returned to the states. /9

Although the roots of the Republican Assembly movement are in the western United States, today the NFRA HQ is in Nashville, TN. NFRA correspondence is out of Newnan, GA in the far outer metro Atlanta area. /10

Former NFRA presidents include /11:
* Rod Martin (CNP member, tech entrepreneur, & Peter Thiel advisor for Pay Pal), three terms
* Sharron Angle (former NV GOP Senate candidate), 2013-2016
* Willes Lee (CNP member & former Hawaii GOP Chair), 2016-2021
* Alex Johnson, (GA) 2021-

The NFRA supported Rick Santorum for president in 2012 & Ted Cruz in 2016. Ted Cruz’s father Pastor Rafael Cruz spoke at their 2015 national convention & has served on board. /12
politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/29/san…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_…

The NFRA endorsed Jim Jordan to be US House Speaker 2018 & Louie Gohmert in 2015. They endorsed Roy Moore for US Senate in Alabama in 2017. /13

Former NFRA president Willes Lee is notable for his 2020 election denialism & advocacy of the Big Lie Stop the Steal campaign. Lee is a CNP member & NRA board member & has used his CNP affiliation to try to acquire positions of influence in right-wing organizations. /14

The Council for National Policy is a #ShadowNetwork radical right hub organization that brings together donors, activists, & operatives. See @anelsona’s excellent book on the subject. The NFRA has often been led by a CNP member. /15
npr.org/2019/10/29/774…

The Conservative Action Project is associated with the right-wing Council for National Policy. The NFRA sometimes participates in signing their memos & disseminating their message. NFRA work with the CNP diminishes the grassroots, bottom-up nature of the NFRA organization. /16

NFRA head Willes Lee signed the Conservative Action Project memo of Dec. 10, 2020 calling on state legislatures to appoint new electors to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. They said Trump won & Biden is not president-elect. /17

exposedbycmd.org/2020/12/11/con…

The #NFRA/Conservative Action Project election-denying memo of December 10, 2020 was retweeted & shared by #DonaldTrump on Facebook on December 21, 2020. /18

After the insurrection, the #NFRA signed a Conservative Action Project memo decrying Jan. 6 violence but said actions of #JoshHawley & others were “constitutional.” These actions were completely out of order. /19

The Florida Republican Assembly (FRA) & its local chapters have also boosted election denialism & champion “voter integrity.” FRA leaders are networked with disgraced former general #MikeFlynn & #PatrickByrne of The America Project. /20
floridarepublicanassembly.org/leadership/

The Florida Republican Assembly President is Peter Kouracos, a former Volusia County Soil & Water Conservation Board member who was elected in 2016 unopposed. He did not run for reelection in 2020. /21

FRA president Peter Kouracos got mixed up with a bizarre, lurid case in the late 1980s/early 1990s at a time he was working on Daytona Beach political campaigns & selling guns part-time. He was a close associate of convicted murderer Kosta Fotopoulos. /22
orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-19…

Peter Kouracos, who is now FRA president, in 1996 was separately found “guilty of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and disorderly conduct.” /23

The Florida Republican Assembly Executive VP is Lou Marin, who is also a national director for the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. /24

The Florida Republican Assembly has peddled the Big Lie of a stolen election. The Executive VP has promoted Big Lie Stop the Steal events & a charter bus to Washington DC for January 6 events. /25

The Florida Republican Assembly is hosting Constitutional Sheriff training with #RichardMack, the anti-government extremist founder of the CSPOA & a founding board member of the Oath Keepers. This is Saturday, June 25 in Orlando. #MikeFlynn & #PatrickByrne too. /26

The Florida Republican Assembly event with anti-government extremist #RichardMack is $45 admission or FREE for law enforcement. The ADL has described how trainings have been a way for extremists to infiltrate law enforcement. Disturbing! /27

adl.org/resources/repo…