U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney will not be attending the Wyoming Republican Convention this weekend because of the party chairman’s alleged ties to a far-right anti-government militia.
A spokesman for Cheney issued a strongly worded statement saying the three-term congresswoman will not be attending the convention because Chairman Frank Eathorne was purported to be a member of the “Oath Keepers.”
“The chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party is a member of the Oath Keepers who was at the Capitol on January 6th and has called for secession, so no, Liz will not be attending,” Jeremy Adler told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday evening.
Adler further noted that many members of the Oath Keepers have been indicted for seditious conspiracy and three have recently pled guilty.
The question of Cheney appearing at the convention was much-discussed on Thursday. Both event organizer Bryan Miller and Wyoming Republican Party Chairman Frank Eathorne said they had received no word on whether Cheney would attend the convention in Sheridan.
“We’re the grassroots and the grassroots isn’t very happy with her right now,” Eathorne told Cowboy State Daily earlier in the day.
Miller, chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Party, did say Cheney will not attend the convention’s congressional delegation dinner on Friday night.
However, Miller said the event will be U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis and Gov. Mark Gordon.
Cheney, who is seeking election to a fourth term as Wyoming’s lone member of the U.S. House, appeared at the party’s 2020 convention by video.
However, in November, the Wyoming GOP’s central committee voted to stop recognizing Cheney as a Republican because of her vote to impeach former President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
She has also been targeted for earning a position on the U.S. House committee investigating the circumstances surrounding the riot and for her frequent criticism of Trump.
Harriet Hageman, one of Cheney’s opponents in the GOP primary for the House, is sponsoring a full breakfast buffet for convention delegates and alternates. The event at the Sheridan County Fairgrounds on Saturday will feature comments by Hageman.
Another featured speaker at the convention will be James O’Keefe of Project Veritas, who will make two presentations. O’Keefe is an American political activist and undercover documentarian who founded Project Veritas.
Project Veritas is a controversial conservative activist group that describes itself as investigating and exposing corruption, dishonesty waste and other misconduct in public and private institutions.
Critics accuse Project Veritas of using deceptive video editing techniques to attack mainstream media organizations and left-leaning groups and politicians.
Various convention committees will discuss proposed resolutions, platforms and bylaws for the 2022 convention in meetings on Friday. The actual business meeting of the state GOP will take place Saturday.
