Alabama county GOP honors Flynn after he said a coup 'should happen' in US

The Republican Party of Jefferson County, Alabama, held a fundraiser on Friday that featured “special guest” retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn.

The appearance by the former national security adviser to former President Donald Trump, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes but was issued a pardon by Trump at the end of 2020, came just a few weeks after Flynn voiced support for a coup in the United States.

On May 30, Flynn appeared at an event in Dallas put together by supporters of the debunked QAnon conspiracy theory, which falsely alleges that a network of satanist cannibal celebrities and politicians are sex trafficking children, among other claims.

A member of the audience at the event asked Flynn why a military coup like the one that took place in Myanmar in February couldn’t happen in the United States. The Myanmar military seized control of the government and declared a state of emergency after an election lost by the side it supported.

Flynn responded, “No reason, I mean, it should happen here. No reason. That’s right.”

He later claimed in a message posted by his account on the social media platform Parler, “Let me be VERY CLEAR – There is NO reason whatsoever for any coup in America, and I do not and have not at any time called for any action of that sort.”

He did not make that clear while speaking at the QAnon event, however.

The Alabama Democratic Party had criticized the GOP event in its own fundraising email, noting, “The Alabama GOP are giving their stamp of approval on Michael Flynn’s terrifying insurrectionist comments by hosting him as their special guest for a fundraiser … TOMORROW in Jefferson.”

After the event, Jefferson County Republican Party Chairman Paul DeMarco bragged to the Alabama Political Reporter that the fundraiser was “one of the most successful dinners we have ever held” thanks to Flynn’s appearance.

Flynn has recently been a promoter of QAnon. In July 2020, he posted a video showing him swearing an oath to the conspiracy theory. He was among the figures permanently banned from Twitter after the company suspended accounts “that are solely dedicated to sharing QAnon content.”

After Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Flynn supported a statement issued by a right-wing group called the We the People Convention calling for Trump to “temporarily suspend the Constitution” and put the United States under martial law.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.