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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.
In a separate statement, Speaker Roger Hanshaw said while Mandt maintains his innocence, Hanshaw strongly condemns… https://t.co/8osOaJHaxc— Taylor Stuck (@Taylor Stuck) 1601778541.0
Mandt wrote:
"Silly fa**ots, D*cks are for Chicks!!"
I very rarely call out a fellow member of the legislature in this way, but his homophobia needs called OUT. I offe… https://t.co/SJU1Ir0pS4— Delegate Cody Thompson (@Delegate Cody Thompson) 1601696755.0
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.
John Mandt would rather lose his daughter than fix his twisted heart. Yikes. https://t.co/MNbXKzEIxg— tomb of the unknown poster (@tomb of the unknown poster) 1601687547.0
Unable to stop himself from digging his own metaphorical grave, Mandt also included anti-Muslim slurs in his messages.
@thedailybeast His first defense was that that it was fake news. 😂— Justony (@Justony) 1601877593.0
Though Mandt claimed the leaked messages were "fabricated," he still submitted his resignation to House of Delegates speaker Roger Hanshaw on October 3.
@TaylorStuckHD Great reporting on this story. I am sure the public ridicule over “fabricated social media messages… https://t.co/qdtHMsLV4Q— Sami Abbas (@Sami Abbas) 1601779879.0
BREAKING: Del. John Mandt is resigning from his seat in the WV House of Delegates effective 11:59 p.m. tonight and… https://t.co/nViCmDWJ6Z— Taylor Stuck (@Taylor Stuck) 1601777578.0
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."
.@SpeakerHanshaw @HoppyKercheval It was said on Talkline today by that the speaker wouldn’t stand for hate speech l… https://t.co/neU9zGz2U2— Justin W Murdock (@Justin W Murdock) 1601955169.0
CW: homophobic slurs A member of our state house of delegates talks about the LGBTQ community this way. Delegate J… https://t.co/QMkbXvle4Q— Sydnee McElroy 💖💜💙 (@Sydnee McElroy 💖💜💙) 1601687549.0
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.'"
You won't be seeing John Mandt taking down his campaign signs anytime soon. https://t.co/APUcHZX1Fq— Taylor Stuck (@Taylor Stuck) 1601941833.0
Gonna keep sharing this story about Del. John Mandt until he resigns @johnmandtjr4wv https://t.co/LmBnoBKK7e— Justin “Hoops” McElroy (@Justin “Hoops” McElroy) 1601777695.0
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."