NC House candidate is under fire for posts some call sympathetic to white nationalists

BY JIM MORRILL
Charlotte Observer, AUGUST 11, 2020

Excerpt...

But critics such as Davis say other symbols appear to suggest Cawthorn’s support for white nationalism.

They include the name of his real estate company, SPQR Holdings. SPQR, an abbreviation of a Latin phrase meaning the Senate and the Roman People, a phrase from the Roman Republic, is often used by white nationalists. His Twitter feed shows he follows 88 people. The number “88” is considered code for Heil Hitler, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

In a recent statement, Cawthorn said, “SPQR is a term for Rome.”

“We can’t let extremists on any side hijack or rewrite history because those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it . . . No one needs to study this history more closely than today’s far left politicians who favor authoritarian, centralized and top-down policies.”

A photo on his web site shows Cawthorn with a military-style rifle and pistol in a holster emblazoned with a Spartan-style helmet, a symbol often used by Oath Keepers, which the ADL describes as “an anti-government right-wing fringe organization.” And Cawthorn also has appeared with the so-called Betsy Ross flag, an early American banner also associated with white nationalism.

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