GOP state House candidate spreads white supremacist comments in Facebook video

During a Facebook live video Tuesday, Mellissa Carone, a Republican candidate running for the state House in 2022 who is known for testifying to state lawmakers alongside Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani last year, said that public schools and the government are trying to “eliminate” white people in America. 

“They’re trying to eliminate the white people in America, particularly the white male in America,” Carone said after criticizing public schools for asking students for their pronouns and calling transgender rights “government control.”

These comments are similar to what is said by far-right extremists against critical race theory, which is a graduate-level course examining the systemic effects of white supremacy in America. It is not taught in any of Michigan’s K-12 schools. 

In the nearly 90-minute video, Carone also criticized the COVID-19 vaccine, statewide shutdowns during the pandemic and defended insurrectionists who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 

Carone did not respond to a request for comment. 

“If you look at the Jan. 6 prisoners, these people were, well, I’m not going to say every single one of them were there peacefully and doing you know everything right. I don’t know that. I don’t know that for a fact,” Carone said. “But I do know that most of these people were peaceful. They are not domestic terrorists, by any means. These are America-loving patriots. Now, keep in mind that these people also were locked in their houses for a year.”

Carone announced in February that she is running as a Republican for the 46th House District in Oakland County. Rep. John Reilly (R-Oakland Township) currently represents the district but cannot run again due to term limits. No other candidates have filed to run for the district.