A left-wing political operative with a history of shady activities was kicked out of CPAC on Friday after he distributed Russian flags to audience members ahead of President Trump’s speech there.
Some news outlets reported that CPAC attendees were waving the flags as if they were pro-Russia.
But the reports left out the fact that a veteran political hatchet man named Ryan Clayton actually distributed the flags, which bore the name “Trump” on them.
Project Veritas’ James O’Keefe first pointed out on social media that Clayton distributed the flags. The Daily Mail’s David Martosko confirmed that CPAC removed him from the venue.
Crowd at CPAC waving these little pro-Trump flags that look exactly like the Russian flag. Staffers quickly come around to confiscate them. pic.twitter.com/YhPpkwFCNc
— Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) February 24, 2017
Clayton is the head of Americans Take Action, a mysterious left-wing activist group that seeks to reform the electoral system. He is also the executive director of Wolf PAC, a progressive political action committee that was founded by Cenk Uygar, the founder of the popular online show, The Young Turks.
Clayton has a long history questionable political shenanigans.
The Daily Caller reported in December that he was behind a failed attempt to pressure Republican electors into ditching Trump during the electoral college vote. (RELATED: Meet The Radical Leftist Group Behind Those Desperate Anti-Trump Ads)
Clayton also hammered on Trump over allegations that Russian president Vladimir Putin directed a hacking campaign aimed at helping the Republican win the White House.
“If Putin picked our President, not We the People, then Trump must be rejected by the Electoral College,” Clayton told one news outlet in December.
Clayton also served as campaign manager for Larry Lessig, a Harvard professor who mounted a short-lived run for president last year. Lessig was involved in the charge to oust Trump during the electoral college vote, but he denied to The Daily Caller that he was involved with Clayton’s project.
#CPAC pic.twitter.com/Hb8JUxVfIm
— Ali Rogin (@AliABCNews) February 24, 2017
Clayton was also behind efforts in Oregon and Maine to smear state election candidates he opposed. In Maine, Clayton’s name was on invoices for mailers sent out to female voters falsely smearing a candidate as a “slumlord.” In Oregon, a group linked to Clayton sent fake questionnaires to voters in hopes of hurting a Democratic state senator that Clayton opposed.
Project Veritas, O’Keefe’s group, posted video of Clayton being removed from CPAC after the flag stunt.
Ryan Clayton, @Project_Veritas nemesis gets kicked out of @realDonaldTrump speech at #CPAC for handing out Russian flags. pic.twitter.com/0rLgeqIC3A
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) February 24, 2017