The man who was the Libertarian Party of Florida’s nominee for U.S. Senate last year has resigned from the party, making the explosive claim that it is a refuge for white supremacists and anti-Semites. Paul Stanton was the 2016 Libertarian Party of Florida nominee for Senate after winning the party’s primary election over a man who went on to be a featured speaker at this year’s deadly white nationalist gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Update on Wednesday, October 25: Ryan Ramsey was not available for an interview Tuesday. We interviewed him Wednesday and he denies all the things Stanton says.
Update on Thursday, October 26: you can listen to our interview with Ramsey at the bottom of this page.
Listen:
“I withdrew from the Libertarian Party of Florida, quite frankly, because of white supremacists using tactics of violent threats and intimidation and people just not caring.”
Can you give us an example of specifics that have happened when there was white supremacy and there was violent threats?
“Yes. So, as you probably know, there was a libertarian primary last year with Agustus Sol Invictus. He was one of the speakers in Charlottesville, for example. He brought in quite the crowd, although perhaps there was a bit of a crowd there already. And you know, he was on tape threatening me and threatening other people. Other people like one of his lieutenants from the campaign, Ryan Ramsey, who’s now running for Florida House, I believe, as well as being an officer within the Libertarian Party of Florida, has issued threats both vague and direct. One such example is, I believe about a month ago, he was saying that I should be thrown out of a helicopter. He’s threatened to have people show up at my place of work. He’s threatened to have people show up to other people’s places of work. He’s suggested to the current Florida Libertarian semi-candidate, Joseph Wendt, that he should have a good dental plan.
“This is ridiculous. I mean, normal people should not have to deal with violent white supremacists in their political party and if they do, the leadership should have the courage to actually step up and say something about it.”
Ryan Ramsey was interviewed by floridapolitics.com and he said, ‘Yeah, he used to be a member of white supremacist groups, but, now he’s not.’ ‘He hasn’t made any threats to you.’ ‘He’s with this group now called American Guard Florida, but, even though the Southern Poverty Law Center considers it having roots in the white supremacist movement, that it is not a white supremacist group.’ Yet, you still say that there’s white supremacists, there’s anti-semites in the Libertarian Party of Florida?
“Just a week ago, Saturday, Ryan Ramsey posted an image on his Facebook page: Libertarian Heathen, that was straight from a 1930s German propaganda textbook insinuating that Jewish men are predators against white German girls. It’s disgusting. This is nothing new. He participates in things like Operation Werewolf. ‘Werewolf’ of course being a reference to a 1940s German plan for insurgency and allied occupied territory. This is nothing new, it’s constant from this guy and everyone’s pretending that it’s not an issue or explicitly supporting it.”
And you feel that the Libertarian Party of Florida in not cracking down, I guess, on this type of behavior, you think that maybe it’s endorsing it and that’s why you’re leaving? Are you going to a different party?
“I’m not planning on going to a different party. No. I introduced a motion with the Libertarian Party of Florida Executive Committee to remove Ryan Ramsey for this. About half of the people who voted on the call, voted for it, just under half excuse me, which was under the two-thirds threshold required. Now you have the Chairman, Marcos Miralles, who used to also say that, for example: Agustus Sol Invictus was not a white supremacist. Now he’s saying the same thing about Ryan Ramsey, whom he’s appointed to committee positions, despite being covered in racist tattoos, despite the constant anti-semitic and violent rhetoric from him.
“I’m not going to another party. No. Not at this time. There have been members of the Constitution, Green, and Republican parties who have all approached me since I’ve resigned, but, I really don’t have any interest in joining any of those parties.”
Well, I think those were all of my questions. Is there anything else that our listeners should know about this issue?
“It’s bizarre and it’s disgusting that– Libertarians in Florida deserve better than [the] Libertarian Party of Florida and just, quite frankly, if the Libertarian Party of Florida ever wants to be taken seriously, they need to start acting seriously and one of those things is not to support violent white supremacy.”
Update: here is WMNF News’ interview with Ryan Ramsey responding to what Stanton said:
