Seen At Racist Charlottesville Rally, WSU Student Resigns As College Republicans President

BOTHELL, WA - A Bothell native and former president of the Washington State University College Republicans has been outed as a participant in the white nationalist "Unite the Right" rallies over the weekend in Charlottesville, Va. James Allsup resigned his post as president on Monday after a social media effort helped identify him and others involved in the weekend's rallies.

The Unite the Right demonstrations have been associated with racist ideology, but many of the attendees identify with the alt-right movement. In addition to alt-right celebrities like Baked Alaska (a Twitter personality), people like David Duke, a Ku Klux Klan leader, and Richard Spencer, a white nationalist, attended.

Allsup became president of WSU's chapter of the College Republicans in 2015, according to the Spokane Spokesman-Review. Former member Jansen VanderMeulen told the paper that the group "changed dramatically" when Allsup took over, and took a more "Trumpist" tone.

A video of Allsup participating in the Unite the Right rallies shows him praising the Confederate flag - "it's a symbol of heritage" - and fawning over Richard Spencer. At one point, Allsup sprints down a street to direct traffic so that Spencer's vehicle can move through. Along the way, Allsup marches with people tossing out racial epithets and excitedly talking about seeing white nationalists like Duke.

(WARNING: This video contains explicit language)

Allsup has claimed that he was planning to leave his position as president and "expedited" that process after last weekend. The WSU College Republicans released a statement distancing itself from the Unite the Right rallies, saying in a statement, "We know that James Allsup was at the event, but he was not representing the WSU College Republicans."

Others have sought to distance themselves from Allsup, too. U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, was photographed with Allsup when she visited the WSU campus earlier this year. Her spokesman has said that McMorris Rodgers doesn't know Allsup and "does not support anyone who took part in the hateful events in Virginia."

Image via YouTube.com