Republican AG Group’s Shakeup Follows D.C. Rally-Turned-Riot
Republican AG Group’s Shakeup Follows Capitol Rally-Turned-Riot
(Bloomberg) -- The executive director of the Republican Attorneys General Association is stepping down following reports that an offshoot of the group helped organize the Jan. 6 rally of President Donald Trump supporters that turned into a deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper’s departure was announced by the organization in a statement Monday that didn’t give an explanation. Piper had also worked for RAGA’s policy group, the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which was listed on a now-deleted web page as a participant in the “March to Save America” gathering in Washington.
“Adam’s tenacity, work ethic and vision allowed the organization to reach new heights by setting fundraising records, regaining the majority and highlighting AG accomplishments nationally,” RAGA’s chairman, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, said in the statement.
Carr has rejected Trump’s election-fraud claims, which the president and other speakers at the Jan. 6 event used to whip the crowd into a frenzy before they marched on the Capitol.
Piper had said in a Jan. 8 statement that the Rule of Law Defense Fund didn’t have authorization to be involved with the massive protest, which the organization promoted with robocalls encouraging attendance. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a prominent booster of Trump’s bogus election-fraud claims, spoke at the rally.
Carr and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, who leads the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which promotes federalism, said Jan. 8 that no one in leadership had signed off on participation in the rally, and that neither RAGA nor its offshoot had any involvement in the event. The group’s link to the event was first reported on Jan. 7 by the watchdog group Documented, which tracks the influence of corporate money.
“The issue here was more than the robocall, and I hope what follows is a move to accountability for actions outside the bounds and for greater civility among state attorneys general,” Sean Rankin, executive director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, which heavily criticized RAGA’s link to the rally, said in a statement on Tuesday.
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