The leader of the Buckhead City effort is under fire for retweeting content from a hate group.
Saturday night, Bill White, CEO and chairman of the Buckhead Exploratory Committee, reshared content from VDARE.com on Twitter but later deleted it, according to a tweet from AJC political reporter Greg Bluestein.
“The leader of the Buckhead secession group has deleted the tweet … but the screenshots remain,” Bluestein said.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated VDARE as a hate group, saying the website “regularly publishes articles by prominent white nationalists, race scientists and anti-Semites.”
White has become the face of the effort for Buckhead to break off from Atlanta and form its own city. Legislation that would pave a path for the new city is expected to be a high-profile discussion at this year’s Georgia General Assembly.
When asked for comment Sunday evening, White shared an Instagram post with Reporter Newspapers.
“I retweeted an article which was well written about rise in violent crime,” White said in the post. “I instead retweeted an entity’s tweet (have no idea who they are) about the article. I realized that the comment made in their tweet was nasty and racist for sure. I deleted the RT, and I tweeted exactly why I did … I was going too fast – and I’m sure it won’t be the first or the last time someone on earth does that.”
White on Sunday had also responded back to Bluestein on Twitter.
“We didn’t see nor do we espouse the comment @VDARE made above that article, hence our deletion,” he said.
But that didn’t stop the backlash.
Jason Dozier, incoming Atlanta City Council member, also shared a screenshot of White’s deleted tweet.
“Sorry, you’re not hiding from this,” Dozier said. “White supremacists aren’t welcome in Atlanta. End of story.”
State Rep. Josh McLaurin retweeted Dozier’s comment and then said on Twitter that “some folks are out here acting like ‘accidentally’ retweeting white supremacists is a thing.”
Neighbors for a United Atlanta, a cityhood opposition group, sent out a press release Sunday night condemning White for “amplifying the racist commentary” of VDARE.
“Instead of promoting Atlanta’s legacy of civil rights, sustained economic growth, or its unbound potential, today’s action by Mr. White tarnishes Atlanta’s reputation,” said the group.
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