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Felder aide says Va. killer was Clinton fan masked as neo-Nazi

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Friday, August 25, 2017, 12:38 AM

ALBANY An aide to state Sen. Simcha Felder recently told a constituent that the man who mowed down a counterprotester with his car during the Charlottesville hate rally might actually have been a Hillary Clinton supporter posing as a neo-Nazi.

Felder aide Darlene Leder told a constituent she had heard that the Virginia rally and violence was manufactured between the citys mayor and police.

I was flabbergasted, the constituent, Eliana Meirowitz Nelson, told the Daily News. I told her that none of it was true. I had friends in Charlottesville. What she said was crazy conspiracy theory nonsense.

She said she noted to Leder that even House Speaker Paul Ryan had spoken out against Trumps comments that both sides were responsible for the violence.

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Leder followed up the conversation by emailing Nelson a link to a right-wing conspiracy site, News Punch, that claimed the driver in Charlottesville, James Fields, had ties to Clinton and was funded by billionaire liberal activist George Soros. Nelson provided The News with the email.

The back-and-forth started when Nelson, who is a member of a group called NY State District 17 for Progress that has frequently picketed Felder on various issues, began calling the senators office last Friday, asking why he had not publicly spoken out about the Charlottesville rally and President Trumps response to it.

She said she finally reached Leder, Felders Albany director of operations, on Tuesday.

Nelson described Leder as very friendly, but said she couldnt believe what she was espousing.

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Felder is the only Orthodox Jewish member of the state Senate. Though a Democrat, Felder caucuses with the Republicans, giving the GOP the 32nd vote it needs to control the chamber.

Nelson said that Leder suggested she call Felders Brooklyn office. She said she did and spoke with Felder communications director Avi Fertig.

Fertig, Nelson said, told her that if Felder commented on Charlottesville, hed have to comment any time something similar happened elsewhere, which would dilute any statement he might make if there is an incident in Brooklyn.

I disagreed very strongly, Nelson said, noting the Charlottesville rally was the largest gathering of Nazis and white supremacists in the U.S. in decades.

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Felder and I as Jews have responsibilities to stand up to Nazism and white supremacy, she said.

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Leder could not be reached for comment.

Fertig referred The News to a comment Felder gave KingsCountyPolitics.com, which first reported the issue on Wednesday.

Felder told the site that he was dumbstruck by Leders comments.

I dont agree with her email and I dont know why anyone would send anything from such a crazy website. I will discuss my dissatisfaction with her shortly, he said.

I, as well as any decent human being, deplore any form of racism, Nazism, anti-Semitism and white supremacists. I was also upset by some of Trumps comments, but I dont think he should be impeached.

Nelson said she expects progressive Democrats will try to run a candidate against Felder in 2018 in hopes of flipping control of the Senate to the Dems.

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Simcha Felder aide says Charlottesville killer was Hillary Clinton supporter masked as neo-Nazi - New York Daily News