RELATED: State Rep. Candice Keller wants penalties for 'sanctuary cities'
Keller told this news outlet she mistook the host of the Internet podcast, Brian “Sonny” Thomas, with a Cincinnati-based radio host with a similar name.
“I know nothing about this guy,” Keller said of Thomas. “Until (Monday), I found out he was a white supremacist. That was the first I’d heard of it.”
She said she was fielding media requests from multiple local and national news outlets about her proposed legislation, and was on the podcast for about 30 minutes.
Since her appearance on Thomas’ show, Keller said she’s been labeled a racist.
“It’s a ludicrous idea to label me as a racist because I appeared on a radio talk show. I was unaware of the guy’s reputation or I would’ve never done the show. I went on the show because we just introduced the idea of a sanctuary city bill. That is all that we talked about,” she said.
Keller talked about her background, why she decided to run for office and addressed the origins of her sanctuary city bill and said, “It’s really not a Democrat or a Republican issue, this is really an issue for everyone where there’s a sanctuary city.”
She also said her contstituents have said they don’t want their communities to be sanctuary cities.
“And we got the message and we’re going to do something about it,” she said on the program.
Thomas references Democrats on the show as “leftists” and was critical of liberals.
Thomas, who is founder of the Springboro Tea Party, has made local and national headlines after he unfurled a Confederate flag at a Springboro school board meeting in a speech defending Constitution classes cancelled by the district and his unsuccessful run to unseat an Ohio GOP committee member.
Keller compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis on her Facebook page last week, drawing fire on social media from supporters of the organization and others who felt it was inappropriate.
Keller posted a meme that included the statement, “One day we will look back at this” with an arrow pointing to the Planned Parenthood logo, and then “the same way we look back at this,” with an arrow pointing to the Nazi swastika.
Keller is a Pro-Life advocate and has voiced her opinions against abortion in the past on her Twitter and Facebook accounts.
“Just as the Nazis took the lives of millions of innocent people and sold their valuables for profit, Planned Parenthood has done likewise as we have seen in hidden camera videos,” she said in a written statement. “Planned Parenthood is a horrific industry that profits from the innocent and the American people should be appalled at their unconscionable activities.”
Franklin Graham, the son of evangelist Billy Graham, was quoted in February making a similar statement.
"Raising funds for (Planned Parenthood) is like raising money to fund a Nazi death camp," Franklin Graham said to LifeNews.com.
Lori Viars, a member of the Warren County GOP board of directors, said others have agreed to appear on Thomas’ podcast only to later realize it is not the Cincinnati radio host.
“There’s a lot of confusion between the two names,” she said.
This news outlet has reached out to Thomas for comment.
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