The husband of a Connecticut woman running for a judgeship isn't backing down from statements he made supporting white supremacy.
Last week, a group that monitors white supremacists revealed that Rob Freeman -- who is married to probate judge candidate Anna Zubkova -- has a long history of being involved in white supremacy causes.
For a time, he was a member of the National Alliance, a notorious neo-Nazi group. The Southern Poverty Law Center has said that before the group disintegrated following the death of its founder, it "was for decades the most dangerous and best organized neo-Nazi formation in America."
He has also written extensively on a personal blog, which has stayed up even has his comments have come under fire. After a local paper picked up the news of his affiliations with the radical right, he wrote a post directly addressing any new readers who had learned about his blog through the article.
"Readers of the Norwich Bulletin are going to know that I think white children should not be made to feel guilty for being white," he said in another post that also defended his posting of a racial caricature.
He has previously suggested on the blog that white people should live in all-white neighborhoods.
The radical right monitoring group that originally highlighted Freeman's affiliation has said that it has not found any evidence that links Zubkova to white supremacy. Nonetheless, supporters of her campaign said they were shocked by the revelations -- and that Freeman's views might have factored into their decision to back his wife.
"If we had [known], there obviously would have been a conversation before we proceeded," the chairman of the Plainfield Democratic Town Committee, which endorsed Zubkova, told the Norwich Bulletin. "I would have proposed holding back any endorsement until we could have researched the matter."
For her part, Zubkova told the Bulletin that her husband became involved with white nationalism after they were married and that she did not share his views.
"What am I supposed to do? Divorce him? It’s not unusual for husbands and wives to have different views," she said. "As a judge, I can assure you I would not discriminate against anyone, even based on their beliefs."
(h/t The Daily Beast)
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