Police break up fracas at Orange County Republican meeting

[applegrove]

Police break up fracas at Orange County Republican meeting. Protestors led by American Nationalist Nick Taurus, with growing division between establishment and far-right members.

By BROOKE STAGGS | [e-mail] | Orange County Register

PUBLISHED: January 18, 2022 at 6:31 p.m. | UPDATED: January 19, 2022 at 11:27 a.m.

https://www.ocregister.com/2022/01/18/police-break-up-fracas-at-orange-county-republican-meeting/

"SNIP......

Police were called to step in after a group of conservatives wearing orange shirts that said “RINO hunters,” with crosshairs making a target of the “O,” tried to storm a Republican Party of Orange County meeting in Costa Mesa on Monday night.

The group was led by Nick Taurus, a self-proclaimed American Nationalist who last year spearheaded a protest during a town hall for Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine, that turned violent. After provocation from Taurus’ group, a Porter supporter threw a punch and was arrested.

Taurus, R-Laguna Hills, is now challenging GOP Rep. Young Kim in the CA-40 House race. He’s labeled Kim, who’s been endorsed by the OCGOP as a RINO, a derogatory name used by the far-right for more moderate politicians who they deem “Republican in name only.”

The clash reflects a growing schism in the Republican party, pitting those who strive to elect GOP candidates in purple areas like Orange County, and those on the far right, who remain fiercely loyal to former President Donald Trump.

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[PortTack]

1. Have at it you creeps...orange county just might be where some Dems could make some inroads

[SunSeeker]

3. Dems are definitely making inroads. OC was blood red when I moved here in 1991.

Now it's purple, and the majority voted for Biden in 2020. I remember having the only Clinton/Gore sign for miles around in 1992.

[PortTack]

4. Great! Thx for sharing

[Marcuse]

2. I used to say, "Live and Let Live"...

Burley had asked party Chair Fred Whitaker in a public letter Jan. 5 to postpone the endorsement meeting following the death of party leader Kelly Ernby. He clashed with Whitaker last election cycle, when he was facing Michelle Steel in the CA-48 race, over the party making early endorsements of establishment candidates.

Ernby had been planning to run for the 72nd Assembly District before her death early this month from COVID-19. On Monday night, the OCGOP endorsed Diane Dixon for the seat.