White nationalist leader posts photos at White House

by Emily Birnbaum - 11/07/18 7:41 PM ET

The leader of white supremacist group Identity Evropa visited the White House on Wednesday, claiming on Twitter that he stopped by in order to “pay [his] respects.”

Patrick Casey, whose group participated in the deadly 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., posted the photos of himself at the White House on social media.

Evropa has landed at the White House! pic.twitter.com/nlExBhNP4V

— Patrick Casey (@PatrickCaseyIE) November 7, 2018

The White House, in a statement to The Hill, claimed Casey was one of thousands of people who visited the White House on Wednesday for the White House Fall Garden Tour, which took place on Oct. 20 and 21.

Casey, however, posted the photos in a tweet on Wednesday.

{mosads}”[Casey] was one of more than twenty-five thousand people who came to the White House Fall Garden Tour, which is open to the public,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. “Free tickets are made available to anyone who wants to attend.”

In a later tweet, Casey echoed the White House response, stating that he visited during a tour. However, he did not clarify when the tour took place.

“I attended the White House during a tour, for which tickets are freely available to the public,” Casey tweeted Wednesday evening. “I would, though, like to thank @jaredlholt, @JGreenblattADL, @jaketapper, and every other guillible, histrionic loser for the free advertising!”

TO CLARIFY:

I attended the White House during a tour, for which tickets are freely available to the public.

I would, though, like to thank @jaredlholt, @JGreenblattADL, @jaketapper, and every other guillible, histrionic loser for the free advertising! https://t.co/GqAlYrIeNb

— Patrick Casey (@PatrickCaseyIE) November 7, 2018

The White House Fall Garden Tour took place last month. Passes were doled out by the National Park Service on a first come, first served basis each morning of the tours.

Casey’s group, Identity Evropa, popularized the motto “you will not replace us,” a reference to the conspiracy that nonwhite groups are seeking to eliminate the white population. Protesters in Charlottesville chanted the slogan, as well as “Jews will not replace us.”

Trump met with another prominent right-wing figure under unclear circumstances in August.

According to photos posted online, Trump met with “QAnon” conspiracy theorist Lionel Lebron in the Oval Office.

Sanders at the time said in a statement that Lebron was part of “a large group came through the White House for a brief tour and a photo,” though White House officials told the Daily Beast that Lebron would have required a staffer to vouch for him in order to gain close proximity to the president.

Tags Identity Evropa White House white house tours white nationalism