Oct 10, 2019 —

A controversial far-right activist in the Glens Falls area claims Rep. Elise Stefanik’s staff reached out to him Wednesday as part of an effort to pack the audience of an upcoming public meeting with her conservative supporters.

In a post shared on social media, Mike Kibling – head of a pro-Trump group called North Country Deplorables – wrote that senior Stefanik adviser Alex deGrasse urged him to rally members to “show up early and secure all the seating inside the fire station.”

The town hall-style event is one of four scheduled by the Republican lawmaker across the North Country this week. It will take place Friday afternoon at a volunteer fire hall in Hudson Falls, NY. Rep. Stefanik has billed the gathering as a “Coffee With Your Congresswoman.”

According to Kibling’s post, the goal of deGrasse’s effort was to ensure journalists covering the meeting will “only capture supporters clapping and cheering” for Stefanik and President Trump.

Kibling, who was photographed last Saturday pointing a toy gun at a journalist, has been disavowed by some other conservative activists for his often profane rhetoric and confrontational style. 

He also put out a call for “warriors outside as well to stifle resistance” at the Friday gathering.

Stefanik spokeswoman Maddie Anderson declined repeatedly to answer questions about deGrasse’s outreach. She wrote in an email that “our office is not affiliated in any way with this organic grassroots organization.” 

NCPR asked Anderson for more clarity about deGrasse’s interactions with Kibling and other conservative groups ahead of this week’s meetings. She didn’t respond. DeGrasse also didn't reply to a message sent via Twitter.

“Her campaign has reached out to us”

In a lengthy phone interview with NCPR, Kibling confirmed speaking with deGrasse before sending out his post. “He called me very early this [Wednesday] morning,” Kibling said, adding that it was the first time the two had communicated.

“I’m hearing from a lot of other people that the [Stefanik] campaign reached out and said, ‘We’re going to be here, hopefully you’ll come out and show support.’”

Update:  In a Facebook message to NCPR Thursday morning, Kibling said that in his social media post to conservative activists, he "embellished" elements of his conversation with deGrasse "to motivate members to attend."

"I am a promoter of sorts," Kibling wrote.  "My goal is to fill the seats with conservatives to have a voice."  He didn't provide specifics about which parts of his post were inaccurate.

 

Meanwhile another North Country conservative group called American Patriots Express also posted a message to members on Wednesday urging them to attend Stefanik’s events this week.

“Elise needs us,” the group wrote. “Her campaign has reached out to us.”

This week’s gatherings are the first public town hall-style events Rep. Stefanik has held since last April. She has hosted fewer than two-dozen gatherings of this kind since taking office in 2015.

These one-hour meetings come at a tense moment politically, as President Donald Trump faces an impeachment probe led by Democrats in the US House. 

The Congresswoman has opposed the impeachment process, promising in a fundraising letter to “stand by” Trump. However, she also voiced strong displeasure this week with the President’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, calling the move “misguided and catastrophic.”

Praise for an activist who pointed a fake gun at a journalist

In his post, Kibling also claimed Stefanik's senior advisor praised the activism of his North Country Deplorable group. 

“I was contacted by deGrasse,” Kibling wrote, “to send his appreciation on behalf of Elise for holding down her Glens Falls office from the invasion of socialists and commies.” 

According to Kibling's account, the call from Stefanik’s office came four days after Kibling was photographed at a rally aiming a toy gun at a local journalist.

“I have a series of photos that shows him waving the [toy] gun, raising the gun, and then pointing the gun and holding the gun at me,” said Glens Falls Post-Star reporter Kathleen Phalen-Tomaselli, in an interview with NCPR.

Her article about the incident quoted Kibling saying, “Hang on, Post-Star, we’ve got one coming for you over there too,” a statement the newspaper interpreted as a threat.

Speaking with NCPR, Kibling acknowledged making the statement and brandishing the toy gun: “We have been battling the fake media,” he said, adding that he didn’t mean to suggest actual violence.

“There’s no violence in our group, we’ve never been charged with any type of crime,” Kibling said, arguing his group has been unfairly portrayed by journalists and harassed by local law enforcement.

Asked whether deGrasse did in fact voice support for Kibling and his organization, Stefanik spokeswoman Anderson replied via email: “There was absolutely no praise for the actions you outlined.”

"As editor of Post-Star I find Rep. Stefanik’s alliance with this man extremely disturbing," wrote the newspaper's managing editor Ken Tingley Wednesday on Twitter.  "I hope she explains her actions to men and women who were threatened at our newspaper."

The North Country Deplorables have staged a number of raucous street rallies in Glens Falls in recent months. The demonstrations have grown so volatile, the city’s common council is considering new regulations designed to reduce the risk of confrontation.

"All constituents are welcome."

Rep. Stefanik’s events begin at 10 am Thursday morning in Lowville, continuing at 3 pm Thursday afternoon in Johnstown. They resume Friday morning at 10 am in Malone, with the Hudson Falls event scheduled for 3 pm Friday afternoon. 

Stefanik’s spokeswoman said in her email that the gatherings are public and have been widely advertised in the media. “All constituents are welcome,” Anderson wrote.