Thread by @hunterw

I have a few announcements …

This story is going to be my last one for a while.

https://twitter.com/intelligencer/status/1522188380448112641

I am working on an exciting new project that I can’t talk about yet! I am going to mostly disappear from the internet for the next few months.

I am sure I will pop back up if I have a story to break. I also wouldn’t want to leave you all without some news.

So, here’s a thread with a story I am not going to have time to write. It’s about Ginni Thomas.

Ginni Thomas, wife of SCOTUS justice Clarence Thomas, is an activist. Her political involvement has led to questions about recusal for him.

While we’ve heard details about her involvement with the Trump White House, there is another ground level facet to her activism.

Much has been made of the fact Ginni Thomas deleted her “public figure” Facebook page, but she maintains another page on the site.

I have access to it and was able to conduct a deep review of her photos and social media presence that revealed much about her political activities

Ginni Thomas has not responded to multiple requests for comment.

Ginni Thomas has been identified as a founder of the “Northern Virginia Deplorables,” a group that purportedly was created to address “lacking” support for President Trump from local officials. myemail.constantcontact.com/Introducing-Gi…

These are the “Northern Virginia Deplorables.” It’s basically Ginni and her friends getting together to wave signs at intersections in the D.C. suburbs.

That's the Kamp Washington strip mall in Fairfax, Virginia. Ginni Thomas and her pro-Trump protester friends often use it as a staging area and gathering place.

I spoke to Ernie Castro, who attended a few of these events, he described the “Northern Virginia Deplorables” as “mostly middle aged people with Trump signs and everybody's kind of waving flags and things.”

Ginni Thomas and her friends' Facebook pages are filled with shots from these events during the 2020 race. She's in the back of this shot.

I am including these photos in this thread because they are integral to the news here and demonstrate how I confirmed this information.

On the morning of January 6, 2021, Ginni Thomas posted this photo of the “Northern Virginia Deplorables” at the Kamp Washington strip mall in Fairfax, Virginia.

Ernie Castro is in that photo. He said the group did not go to the rallies in D.C. “I think it was during the week. I didn't go, I had no interest in going honestly.” Ginni Thomas, who has said she went to the January 6 Ellipse rally is not in the group.

One interesting aspect of Ginni Thomas’ pro Trump protest activity is that many of the other participants are also deeply connected to high level Republican politics.

By the way, it seems like that's a very nice bottle of wine Ginni and Justice Thomas are enjoying. I see it listed online for $5,135. sokolin.com/2009-drc-echez…

So, as I was saying, a lot of Ginni Thomas' "Northern Virginia Deplorables" have serious Republican connections. This photo she posted on January 6 includes Mike Melillo, a Freedomworks consultant snd Mariam Bell, whose husband worked in Trump's HHS.

The picture also includes Suzanne Scholte, a think tanker and former congressional candidate. None of these people responded to requests for comment.

Anne Ryun and her husband, former congressman Jim Ryun, were regulars at Ginni Thomas' pro-Trump flash mobs. They also attended protests against Biden's election.

I spoke to Anne Ryun on the phone. Her son, Ned, is a major GOP operative. Anne told me "let me get back to you" before hanging up. She did not, in fact, get back to me.

We have never seen a spouse of a Supreme Court justice who is as politically active as Ginni Thomas. I have tons of these pro-Trump flash mob photos.

This shot from October 9, 2020 shows Ginni with her neighbor Orene Blum. Orene, who will come into play again in a second, did not respond to requests for comment.

Ginni Thomas' activism isn't limited to pro-Trump sign waving and horn honking protests. She and another woman, Jo-Ann Chase ran to be GOP national delegates in 2020.

Here's a video of Ginni Thomas delivering her delegate stump speech. facebook.com/joann.chase.1/…

Ginni Thomas talked about her activism in that speech.

“We love the 2nd Amendment. We love pro-life and we just want to find new people," she said. "I’ve been a political activist and a troublemaker for a long time, a precinct captain and we did some flash mobs on the street."

By April 2021, a new group in Virginia appears to have been launched on Facebook called “Stand Up Virginia.” Ginni Thomas seems to have played a rather active role with them.

Stand Up Virginia has held pro-police “Respect and Honor The Blue” events and focused on the education controversies that have roiled the state — or as they put it, “sexualization of your children by Virginia public schools.”

Here’s Ginni Thomas in October 2021 at a Stand Up Virginia protest dedicated to “STANDING UP AGAINST PORN IN VIRGINIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS!”

To me, Ginni Thomas and her friends show how one aspect of recent conservative wins in Virginia is that some of the activists there are uniquely well-connected due to the proximity to D.C.

Ginni Thomas seems to be a big part of "Stand Up Virginia." In June 2021, they had an event called the “First Virginia’s Freedom Festival.” In a post afterwards, the organizer thanked Ginni and two others "for the months of planning that went into this.”

And "Stand Up Virginia" has stood up for Ginni Thomas. On March 27, three days after the story about her texts with Mark Meadows, they held a small “We love Ginni!” demonstration outside the gated community where she lives to express support for her.

The "We love Ginni!" protest outside Ginni Thomas' house was attended by her neighbor and friend, Orene Blum.

Since I began reporting on this, Orene seems to have deleted her Facebook. Ginni Thomas also changed her settings. Before that, they had one key interaction that caught my eye.

Ginni Thomas' neighbor Orene's house apparently has something of a shrine to Robert E. Lee.

Ginni Thomas "loved" one of the Facebook pictures of the Robert E. Lee shrine.

Orene wasn't the only one who attended the "We Love Ginni!" protest outside Ginni Thomas' house. There was a small group chanting “Ginni rocks!”

In a Facebook comment, Ginni Thomas thanked the people who protested to support for her after the leak of her texts: “You all touched our hearts yesterday with this gathering near us! Love the signs, the smiles, energy and love! An honor to know you all!! 💖💖💖THANK YOU!!!”

Anyway, that's enough out of me for a while.

Oh! I almost forgot the most important thing.

I am moving back to Brooklyn. Finally. See you all soon.