THEY DO LOVE THEIR COSPLAY:

The Daily Beast has identified eight recently created anti-CRT groups which operate at local levels across the country but bear ties to ideological right-wing aristocrats and political operatives. Their backers include former officials in Donald Trump's administration, an executive at a notorious D.C. lobbying firm, as well as Koch entities and The Federalist Society.

In Virginia, one of the key leaders against critical race theory is Ian Prior. If Prior's name sounds familiar, that's because you may have been one of the tens of thousands of Americans who to receive emails from Prior in one of his many different former roles: press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, Justice Department official during the Trump administration, communications director for the Karl Rove super PAC American Crossroads, and now, a GOP operative behind two organizations that have inflamed attacks on so-called critical race theory in Virginia's public schools.

Prior runs Fight for Schools, a state-level PAC which emerged this year to challenge educational decisions in Loudoun County and mobilize behind Youngkin. The candidate turned to Prior's group for fundraising and voter outreach efforts, and state election disclosures show that the organization raised hundreds of thousands of dollars during the campaign.

Over the last several months, Prior--whose children attend Loudoun County schools--has appeared on Fox News at least 15 times to discuss critical race theory, according to a Media Matters analysis. He has been introduced on those shows as a "Loudoun County parent" and a "father" who went "from concerned parent, like many of you, to legal activist," Media Matters reported. In one such appearance last month, Prior was identified by the host as a "parent," while the graphic on the screen labeled him "vice president at Mercury Public Affairs"--a D.C. lobbying firm with a history of representing controversial foreign clients.

Fight for Schools--which this spring launched an effort to recall half a dozen Loudoun County school board members--also reported significant financial backing from 1776 Action, a "dark money" nonprofit led by former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson. The group also coordinated local events in Virginia with The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank with connections to the Koch empire and Tea Party organizing efforts. And while Prior denies being present for the most controversial of those Loudoun County events--a June 22 protest that turned violent and ended with the arrests of two parents--that event was organized by another one of his groups, Parents Against Critical Theory.

PACT's incorporation documents with the state of Virginia show Prior as its signatory, via his Parents Against Critical Theory LLC. However, he does not appear on the group's website, which claims its founder is Scott Mineo, another Loudoun County parent who spoke at the June 22 protest. (Mineo has also reportedly posted anti-Black and anti-Muslim remarks on Facebook.) And, like Fight For Schools, PACT also received significant financial backing from Carson's 1776 Action, and has coordinated events with the Heritage Foundation.

A separate group that recently launched a seven-figure anti-CRT ad campaign appears to be an arm of another conservative dark-money juggernaut.

According to Virginia state incorporation records, the group--the Free to Learn Coalition--appears connected to the Concord Fund, aka the Judicial Crisis Network, a nonprofit which has poured millions of dollars into efforts to stack the Supreme Court with conservatives. JCN is effectively controlled by Leonard Leo, a wealthy conservative activist and Federalist Society executive.

And another prominent new anti-CRT organization, the 1776 Project, was founded by right-wing operative Ryan Girduksy. Girdusky, who once co-wrote a book with current Matt Gaetz spokesperson Harlan Hill, has implied support for the Great Replacement Theory--a casus belli for white nationalists.

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