U.S. Senator Taps Aide with History of Racist Writings & Connections to White Nationalists

WASHINGTON – An anti-immigrant extremist with ties to the white nationalist movement is presently advising Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), according to a new report published in Hatewatch. Julia Hahn, a former Trump aide with a long history of racist writings, was hired in January. Hatewatch previously reported on the former Trump deputy communications director’s ties to extremists last fall. 
 
“Especially following the violence of January 6th, Julia Hahn and others who carry and perpetuate extremist views have no place in the U.S. Capitol,” said Michael Edison Hayden, Senior Investigative Reporter who authored the report. “We have all now seen the result of former President Trump’s emboldening of white nationalists and the extremist movement, which happened during her tenure. For her to continue on in government is an insult to all Americans.”
 
During the final year of a Trump presidency, racist conspiracy theories and white nationalist ideology were propelled into the political mainstream. Hahn has trafficked in both. The report found:
Hahn is connected to the white nationalist non-profit VDARE. VDARE has published apologia regarding the ideologies espoused by far-right terrorists and has defended the white supremacist Unite the Right rally staged in Charlottesville, Virginia in August 2017.  

Before joining the Trump White House as an aide, Hahn attended a writer’s workshop hosted by The Social Contract Press, a white nationalist hate group, the emails McHugh leaked to Hatewatch revealed. 

She also had previously met with white nationalist Scott Greer, who was fired by the Daily Caller after news surfaced that he wrote for white nationalist Richard Spencer’s publication Radix Journal under a pseudonym. 

Hahn also collaborated with staff at the anti-immigrant hate group Center for Immigration Studies to write articles portraying non-white immigrants in a negative light, the emails showed. 

The report is based upon hundreds of private correspondences that were leaked to SPLC by former Breitbart News editor Katie McHugh, Hahn’s former friend and colleague. The authenticity of the emails described has not been questioned. 
 
Read the full report here.
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The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.