And even before QAnon, Espinoza had determined that“Child molestation and rape are very numerous in this illegal alien demographic!”; indeed “unsecured communities, human trafficking, molestations of our children, are all part of the vernacular of this disease that illegal immigration speaks”. The TPR has also promoted conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was rife with fraud and that Trump’s reelection was stolen from him – “Trump Won! STILL My President! Cheaters never win...wait and see!” tweeted Espinoza in February, 2021. Of course, Espinoza’s respect for the democratic processes she claims to champion is not unequivocal; in 2018 she suggested that anti-immigration actvists should find some kind of “little loophole” to remove officials who disagree with her on immigration from public office before the next election.
TRP is, however, at the forefront of the anti-sanctuary-cities movement and has had some serious impact, especiallywith theTrump administration, and it enjoys the support of a number of members Congress. TRP is also closely connected to people central to the white nationalist movement, like Paul Nehlen.
Indeed, Espinoza has herself tried to run for Congress, both in 2016 and in 2020, on a platform of “work[ing] to stop Socialism and the Democrats' liberal agenda, and work to peel-away the indoctrinating tentacles of education that has encroached upon parental rights and the privacy of our children.” Her 2016 platform also included e.g. a moratorium on Muslim immigration, prohibiting same-sex marriage, drug-testing welfare beneficiaries, and building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Diagnosis: It’s hard to motivate much more than an exasperated sigh here, but yeah, Espinoza is yet another conspiracy theorist in a position of somewhat significant influence and power.
Hat-tip: SPLCenter