Center for Security Policy president Frank Gaffney is scheduled to be a featured speaker at the Tennessee Republican Assembly’s 2014 annual conference on March 29 in Nashville.
Gaffney is one of the leading figures in the anti-Muslim movement. He is advertised to provide attendees with a smattering of “national security” topics. If past instances serve as a guide, this will involve him peddling his theories such as how Muslims have infiltrated the U.S. government from within.
This will not the first time Gaffney has helped spread anti-Muslim sentiments in Tennessee. In 2010, Gaffney was brought in to assist activists who attempted to stop the construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro. He provided testimony alleging that the center’s goal is to establish Shariah law in the community and undermine the Constitution.
Another longtime mosque opponent, Andrew Miller, is also scheduled to participate in the event. Miller heads the Tennessee Freedom Coalition, a group that continues to foment discrimination against Muslims statewide.
Despite the GOP’s efforts to distance itself from fringe activists such as Gaffney, many factions within the party continue to prove they are more than willing to provide them a platform.