Anti-Muslim extremist group to host $1,500-a-plate gala at Trump's Mar-a-Lago
The anti-Muslim group ACT for America plans to host an annual gala at President Donald Trump’s South Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, according to an invitation posted on the group’s website. Known for organizing the “March Against Sharia” in 2017, a nationwide protest attended by far-right and white supremacist groups, ACT for America is considered the largest anti-Muslim group in the country by organizations that monitor extremists, including the Anti-Defamation League, Georgetown University’s Bridge Initiative and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
While Trump’s properties have drawn scrutiny from good-government watchdogs, ACT for America would likely be the most controversial group to book a major event at Mar-a-Lago. The ACT event will begin with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. Drinks will be followed by a dinner featuring guest speakers, including conservative commentator Michelle Malkin.
“It is totally inappropriate that an Islamophobic hate group would be in effect funneling money to the president of the United States by holding an event in one of his properties,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. “This is a group that has been associated with Islamophobia in the worst form for many years and has also been associated with white supremacists and racist groups.”
Hooper said that the president’s club seemingly agreeing to host the event suggests Trump “endorses” the group’s ideology — and reveals how Trump’s business empire, held alongside his presidential office, opens up a pathway for undue influence and corruption.
Michelle Malkin
https://www.abqjournal.com/1374795/anti-muslim-extremist-group-says-it-will-host-1500-a-plate-gala-at-trumps-mar-a-lago.html
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