A Republican state lawmaker from West Virginia resigned from his position in the House of Delegates after leaked messages showed him using homophobic language.
In screenshots of text exchanges, lawmaker John Mandt wrote several anti-LGBTQ sentiments while mocking his Republican colleagues for their support of the Fairness Act—legislation intended to protect LGBTQ workers from discrimination.
Mandt wrote:
"Silly fa**ots, D*cks are for Chicks!!"
Mandt then began to speculate which of his Republican colleagues might be gay, saying one lawmaker "can be a little feminine" and another is a "hostage to the left" for fear of being exposed.
Unable to stop himself from digging his own metaphorical grave, Mandt also included anti-Muslim slurs in his messages.
Though Mandt claimed the leaked messages were "fabricated," he still submitted his resignation to House of Delegates speaker Roger Hanshaw on October 3.
Andrew Schneider, executive director of Fairness West Virginia, issued a statement on Mandt's messages:
"These screenshots of Del. John Mandt's comments embarrass our state and hurt the reputation of the office he holds."
"This isn't the first time we've seen Del. Mandt disparage the LGBTQ community. In 2019, when Del. Eric Porterfield hinted he would drown his own kids if they turn out to be gay, Mandt was one of the few delegates to offer support for him."
Schneider added:
"Mandt called Porterfield a 'great guy,' even though everyone else condemned the comments and tried to distance themselves from Porterfield. Not long after Porterfield called LGBTQ people the 'modern-day version of the Ku Klux Klan,' Mandt called us the 'alphabet hate group.'"
Schneider concluded his statement by saying:
"John Mandt has finally shown us who he really is. It's time for us to show him who West Virginians really are."
