Far-Right Anchorage Politician Stages Photo Op with 'Big Liar'
A far-right Anchorage politician staged a photo op with former president Donald Trump during a February trip to Mar-a-Lago. The January 6 committee has alleged that Trump and his allies engaged in a potential 'criminal conspiracy' by trying to block Congress from certifying the 2020 presidential election.
Eagle River Assemblyperson Jamie Allard, who was removed from her position on the Alaska Human Rights Commission by Governor Mike Dunleavy after she defended Nazi phrases seen on Alaska vanity license plates last year, posted the picture to her Facebook account and wrote that the photograph of her and the former president was real and that she had a "productive conversation with Mr. Trump."
Some on social media have questioned the validity of the photo, suggesting it was photoshopped or that Allard was standing next to a wax figure of the former president. Still, I don't think that's the case, especially since we are in an election cycle, and posting such a picture would be incredibly dumb.
It's unclear whether the Alaska residents pictured with Trump, including Allard and election fraud conspiracy theorist U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka, paid to attend the event and for the photo-op. Reports suggest that Trump has charged tens of thousands of dollars to be photographed with him.
Allard, who is running for state office, has previously paralleled the far-right Save Anchorage group she is a member of to Trump's "Save America" Political Action Committee (PAC), and when asked by voters on Facebook whether she believed the 2020 presidential election was conducted fairly, has refused to answer. Some have speculated that a meme previously shared by Allard to her Facebook account last year was proof that she did not believe the election was conducted fairly.
At a January 12, 2021, meeting of the Anchorage Assembly, representatives attempted to pass a resolution condemning the attack on the Capitol. Trump supporters in attendance that night — many associated with the same Save Anchorage group Allard is a member of — opposed such a resolution. Gasps could be heard in the Assembly chambers after East Anchorage Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar proposed an amendment to an amendment that would have added language affirming that President-elect Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election fairly.
Allard was also the organizer of the "Alaska Freedom Convoy" and one of the few Alaska politicians who encouraged individuals to donate to the far-right-influenced Canadian Freedom Convoy. Anchorage Mayor David Bronson and U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan attended the rally for Allard's convoy event.
Allard's recent meeting with the former president was only a slight step up from her encounter with him at a 2020 pro-Trump rally held in Anchorage. The 2020 encounter was likely more productive than the one Allard says she had with Trump this year.
