Numerous 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls are scheduled to attend a “National Security Action Summit” in New Hampshire on Saturday, July 25, organized by the Center for Security Policy, a far-right think tank headed by notorious anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Frank Gaffney.
The event will be the third of its kind to take place this year. Gaffney hosted similar summits in 2016 battleground states such as South Carolina and Iowa. Like those, the New Hampshire event will bring together myriad anti-Muslim, far-right, and nativist figures as well as U.S. lawmakers. And, of course, several presidential candidates.
Gaffney
According to the event’s webpage, the confirmed presidential hopefuls speaking include:
- Carly Fiorina (CA)
- Sen. Ted Cruz (TX)
- Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA)
- George Pataki (NY)
- Rick Santorum (PA)
Several others have been invited, but are still pending confirmation.
This is not the first time Cruz, Santorum, or Jindal have signed on to speak at an an event hosted by Gaffney. In fact, as highlighted by Imagine 2050, Cruz is a regular at events sponsored by Gaffney as well as other other notorious anti-Muslim figures.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Rep. Steve King (I-IA) are also slated to attend.
Topics of discussion scheduled for Saturday’s event include: “The threat from Iran, shariah [sic] and the Global Jihad Movement” and “The border insecurity and immigration crises.” These topics coincide with Gaffney’s conspiracy theories that Muslims are actively working to replace the U.S. Constitution with Shariah law by way of something he refers to as “stealth jihad.”
Additionally , figures from both the organized anti-immigrant and Islamophobia movements in America are scheduled to attend, including former FBI agent turned anti-Muslim spokesperson John Guandolo. After resigning in disgrace from the FBI, Guandolo has made a career out of pushing anti-Muslim conspiracy theories. He travels around the country giving “counter-terrorism” trainings for both law enforcement and civilians alike.
Also scheduled to speak is Rosemary Jenks, the Director of Government Relations at NumbersUSA – one of the most influential anti-immigrant groups operating in the Beltway. Over the past couple years, Gaffney has increasingly collaborated with anti-immigrant groups like NumbersUSA because they share common ideological ground rooted in nativism.