Joe Biden Effigy Hit and Kicked at Republican Event

Kansas Republicans hit and kicked an effigy of Joe Biden at an event, video footage shows.

Videos posted on social media show attendees at a Johnson County Republican Party fundraiser on Friday used a bat to attack a mannequin wearing a mask with the president's face on it and a T-shirt that said "Let's Go Brandon" on it.

Current Kansas GOP chairman Mike Brown told 27 News: "The event Friday had nothing to do with KSGOP." Newsweek contacted the Johnson County Republican Party by website form to comment on this story.

The Context

Johnson County Republicans held an event on Friday called "A Grand Ol' Party" at Overland Park Convention Center. Tickets cost between $100 and $300, and conservative musician Ted Nugent appeared as a keynote speaker. Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline also attended the event.

What We Know

Footage of event attendees attacking the effigy initially appeared on right-wing social media network Rumble. It then spread on other social-media networks including X, formerly Twitter.

"This booth was hosted by a Karate school to promote their self defense class," Maria Holiday, the chairwoman of the Johnson County Republican Party, said in an email to daily broadsheet newspaper The Spokesman-Review.

Views

Former head of the Kansas Republican Party Mike Kuckelman criticized the event and called for the resignations of Brown and Holiday.

"This conduct is shameful, and it is WRONG. Brown and Holiday must resign," Kuckelman wrote. "Republicans, especially elected Republicans, must demand the resignations of Brown and Holiday. Silence is complicity in this case."

Posting on X, Kaivan Shroff, a public interest attorney and senior adviser to The Institute of Education, called it "a disgusting display designed to encourage political violence," and called on Brown to resign.

Democratic Senator Cindy Holscher of Overland Park called the event "juvenile" and "dangerous" in a statement to 27 News.

"As an elected official who has received dozens of threats over the past few years from Trump supporters via social media, as well as to my email and voicemail, I can't say I'm surprised by this display," Holscher said.

"This type of behavior is not only juvenile, but dangerous and has no place in politics or our society. This continuing growth of extremism in the GOP is why I left the party several years ago. The few remaining members with integrity have condemned these actions, yet, sadly, they are the ones who keep getting pushed out of the party."

What's Next?

The event comes as the campaign for the 2024 presidential election gets underway, with a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump all but confirmed.

Update 03/11/23, 3:52 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.