The Berks County Patriots, an “extreme anti-government group,” sent members to the Jan. 6 insurrection that injured 140 police officers — now Bill McSwain is set to keynote their upcoming monthly meeting.
PENNSYLVANIA — As Bill McSwain runs for Governor, he’s claiming he’s a “law and order” candidate — but on March 17, he is set to campaign in front of an “extreme anti-government group” who encouraged its members to join the Jan. 6th insurrection and has connections to the Berks County chapter of the Oath Keepers.
This news comes as Salon reported yesterday that there is an alarming trend among the GOP candidates for Governor: they’re vying for the support of the “extreme anti-government group,” the Berks County Patriots.
Multiple Oath Keepers have been charged for their role in the deadly insurrection that injured 140 police officers in Washington, D.C. McSwain is clearly willing to throw away his “law and order” to win over the MAGA base.
This isn’t the first time McSwain has gone all-in on the Big Lie — last summer, he tried to fool Trump in a desperate letter begging for his endorsement and repeating his election lies. In the now infamous letter, McSwain claimed to receive “allegations” of voter fraud in the 2020 election, but as U.S. Attorney, he failed to open any investigation or file a single case of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
“Bill McSwain spends his time claiming to be the ‘law and order’ candidate, but he’s on a tireless crusade to champion Trump’s Big Lie — and now, he’s even eagerly competing to earn the support of the Berks County Patriots who attended the January 6th insurrection,” said Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesperson Marisa Nahem. “Bill McSwain simply cannot run as a ‘law and order’ candidate while begging for support from an ‘extreme anti-government group’ that participated in the violent assault on the Capitol Building where 140 police officers were injured. He should back out of this speaking engagement immediately, and while he’s at it, stop spreading the same dangerous rhetoric that led to the assault on our democracy and continues to cause instability in our communities.”
The GOP candidates have already based their campaigns on dangerous lies about the 2020 election and surrounded themselves with insurrectionists in the process — so their involvement with extremist groups in Pennsylvania is no surprise. As of last month’s meeting, the group had heard from Lou Barletta — who was a fake elector for Trump in the 2020 election — GOP frontrunner (and subpoenaed insurrection attendee) Doug Mastriano, career politician and “election integrity” enthusiast Dave White, Jason Richey, Dr. Nche Zama, Charlie Gerow, and former candidate for Governor Guy Ciarrocchi.
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