A Tumblr account allegedly linked to John Reid, an anti-trans gay Republican running for lieutenant governor in Virginia, reportedly shared an image from another account that fetishized white supremacy.

Reid, the first out gay Republican ever to run for statewide office in Virginia, has denied any connection to the Tumblr account, which was registered under the handle JRDeux, the same one he uses on Instagram and TikTok. Reid has said that the blog, which was deactivated shortly after The Richmonder reported on its existence in April, is part of a smear campaign by fellow Republicans and anti-LGBTQ+ conservative activists to get him to drop out of the race because he is gay.

Related

Gay man & anti-gay evangelical are running together on the GOP ticket for Virginia’s highest offices

But as American Journal News reports, posts shared by the account date back to 2014, long predating Reid’s political career. The outlet says it was able to view several posts, all of which were reposts from other Tumblr accounts, via the Internet Archive.

According to American Journal News, a post from October 2015 showed a photo of a male college student in underwear. The image was reportedly reposted by the JRDeux account from another user, whose own blog was dedicated to imagery that fetishized white supremacy and Nazism. That user’s handle – “obedientn****rdc” – included a racial slur, and their bio reportedly described them as a “subservient n****r who knows his place in society.” The account regularly posted photos of white men with white supremacist tattoos with captions that included white supremacist and Nazi acronyms and code phrases, and they repeatedly referred to white men as “SSirs,” possibly a reference to the Nazi secret police.

Insights for the LGBTQ+ community

Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

American Journal News reports that the JRDeux account did not share any of the other account’s white supremacist content and it is unclear from the outlet’s reporting whether the user behind JRDeux followed that account. The JRDeux account also shared gay domination kink imagery from other accounts.

As Virginia Scope reported in April, the Tumblr blog first came to light as part of a vulnerability assessment on Reid commissioned by Republican groups. After The Richmonder published its report on the account — which did not mention the alleged connection to white supremacist imagery — Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin (R) called on Reid to drop out of the race for lieutenant governor.

Reid has resisted calls to end his bid, maintaining that the blog is part of an elaborate smear campaign that he claims has also included attempts by a “local religious activist” and a representative of Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia political action committee to “extort” him into dropping out of the race.

Responding to American Journal News’s report on a media call this week, Virginia Delegate Mike Jones (D) called on Reid to end his campaign.

“The accounts that Reid appears to have promoted and engaged with are full of hateful, racist, bigoted imagery,” Jones said. “John Reid’s track record shows he is comfortable with white supremacy. Now, it looks like he’s fine with it showing up on his social media feed. This disturbing behavior is unacceptable from anyone, especially from someone running to represent all Virginians.”

On the same call, fellow Virginia Democrat, Sen. Adam Ebbin, blasted the “racist, antisemitic online content linked to John Reid on a social media account” as “appalling and shameless.”

The alleged posts, he said, “reveal John Reid has a disturbing level of comfort with disgusting, dehumanizing ideologies. There is no place for white supremacist extremism or sexualized violence in any situation, especially in our government. Virginians do not want a lieutenant governor who is associated with such vile online content.”

Despite being the first out gay Republican to run for statewide office in Virginia, Reid has taken a number of anti-LGBTQ+, far-right positions. The former radio host and media consultant opposes “leftist indoctrination” in education and the “divisive wokeness” of “identity politics,” and supports “parental rights” — a phrase commonly used as a dog whistle for opposition to LGBTQ+-inclusive school policies.

His website decries “the radical trans movement” and states that he “believes in the right for grown adults to live their lives as they see fit but not if they impose restrictions and obligations on others and not if any of their behavior sexualizes or grooms children.”

In June, Reid said that if elected, he would not provide a tie-breaking vote in the Virginia Senate in favor of amendments enshrining reproductive rights, voting rights, and same-sex marriage rights in the Virginia state constitution, according to the Virginia Mercury.

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.