Lori Gayne from Illinois' 5th CD – photo by Sun-Times Lynn Sweet
CLEVELAND – The convention credentials for an Illinois Republican were taken away Wednesday when under the surname of "whitepride" 5th CD Trump delegate Lori Gayne under a Facebook photo wrote:
“Our brave snipers just waiting for some “N—- to try something. Love them.”
The comment – using the abbreviation for a racial slur – was posted over a photo of snipers standing on the roof of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum where a Republican National Convention welcome party was held Sunday night.
Illinois Republican Party chairman Tim Schneider reacted sternly:
I condemn in the strongest terms the racist comments and threats of violence made by Ms. Gayne, a member of our delegation to the Republican National Convention. Ms. Gayne brought the statements to the attention of Illinois Republican Party staff after being contacted by Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times,.
Let me be unequivocally clear — racism and threats of violence have absolutely no place in the Illinois Republican Party or in a civil and inclusive society.
The Illinois Republican Party believes that inciting violence against anyone attending the RNC places state delegations, demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights, and law enforcement personnel needlessly in harm’s way. Therefore, I have consulted with the Executive Committee of the Illinois Republican Party and have revoked Ms. Gayne’s credentials as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
Gayne was one of three delegates for Trump that won in the March GOP primary. She beat out DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin by .1 percent of the vote. Cronin ran as a delegate for Ohio Governor John Kasich.
