A former Marine slated to lead Friendswood's Fourth of July parade backed out Thursday after a coordinated campaign to remove her as grand marshal led to threats of violence against her and her family, the city's parks department announced.
Haley Carter, who also chairs Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner's Commission Against Gun Violence,
"voluntarily stepped down," she said, after
failed congressional hopeful, former RV salesman and conservative talk show host Jesse Kelly
sicced his hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers on her and her family Wednesday. Kelly said he took exception to Carter's political views and even posted a photo of her child in an effort to intimidate Friendswood officials into canceling her inclusion in the parade.
After the city announced Carter was receiving threats of violence,
Kelly celebrated, saying "UPDATE: She's gone" and declaring his actions as part of
"The New Right," described by Vanity Fair's James Pogue as "a project to overthrow the thrust of progress, at least such as liberals understand the word." In Kelly's plea to his followers, he lamented that Carter was "into trans activism" and pointed out that she took her excited son to a drag show in Las Vegas to see his "favorite Queen."
While Kelly's insular following applauded his maneuver, others spoke in support for Carter. Turner, who appointed her to the city of Houston's commission in 2018, called her an "American hero" and role model.
"Simply put, Haley is the best of us," Turner said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. "It is no wonder that her hometown of Friendswood chose to honor her in their Fourth of July parade. Haley embodies everything the uniquely American holiday represents. Freedom. Independence. Love of country. In other words, the perfect Fourth of July grand marshal.
I guess it depends on the bar one sets for a model republican.
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