Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) distanced himself on Friday from a staffer with history of extreme Twitter posts, including one that referred to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as “Hitler.” Sandra Adams, Good's district director, apologized for using “poor judgement” in the posts. Adams and her husband, Melvin Adams, also attended portions of a riot outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Sandra Adams has used her Twitter presence since the November election to repeat false claims of voter fraud and chastise those who disagree with her unfounded claims. In one thread, Adams mocked another user who said that fraud did not exist.
“Oh, you mean like the polish [sic] people sitting in their comfy homes just outside of the Auschiwitz [sic] concentration camp where people were being massacred and were told that it didn’t exist even though they could smell the stench in the air???” Adams wrote in a tweet that has been since deleted.
Adams also posted a meme in 2015 that depicted former President Barack Obama above Arabic text saying “There is no God except Allah.” The former president is pictured along Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin as an opponent of gun ownership. In other Tweets, Adams said she will refuse a COVID-19 vaccine, contested the rights of transgender people, and accused Vice President-elect Kamala Harris of “turning EVERYTHING into a race problem” after Harris vowed to address higher death rates from the virus among Black Americans.
“I understand that I did not exercise proper judgement in the use of social media,” Adams said in a statement provided by Good's Congressional office. “In particular, I understand that any comparison to the Holocaust is wholly inappropriate and offensive, and I offer my sincere apologies. I have since removed my comments.”
Good said in a statement that Adams only spoke for herself and that she exercised poor judgement on social media.
“Her comparisons and statements were made in her personal capacity and do not speak for my beliefs. As with any personnel issue, I have addressed it privately,” Good said, without elaborating on what steps he had taken.
Adams and her husband, Melvin, attended the “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, according to an email Melvin sent out to other members of Virginia's 5th District Republican Committee obtained by VPM and other news outlets. Melvin, who chairs the committee, wrote he did not witness the events inside the U.S. Capitol but was close enough to see the use of flash bombs and tear gas at the building’s entrances.
“The tragic nature of events inside came home full force when a young lady who had been shot was being taken to the ambulance, passing so close to us that we could have literally reached out and touched her,” Adams said in the email, referring to Ashli Babbitt, a 35 year-old rioter who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to gain access to the Speaker’s Lobby.
Adams also said law enforcement use of live rounds was “the kind of actions that historically start revolutions” though he said he personally was not “ready to go there.”
Good was one of 147 House Republicans to vote against certifying the results of the November presidential election after the riot. He earned attention before being sworn in for calling the pandemic “ phony” in an address at the Women for America First rally in Washington D.C. on Dec. 12.
Good voted against impeaching President Donald Trump on Wednesday for allegedly inciting rioters in the runup to the rally.
“It’s a sham to try to tarnish the otherwise great legacy of a great president who has done more to help the American people than any president in my lifetime,” Good told conservative talk show host John Fredricks earlier that day before reviving false allegations of voter fraud.
Good won a hotly contested nominating convention last year against former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA) after Riggleman officiated a same-sex marriage. Riggleman supporters alleged Melvin Adams helped tipped the committee away from a primary, which he favored, toward a convention a short drive from Good’s home, though Adams denied any favoritism. Good later paid Sandra Adams nearly $15,000 from August through November as a fundraiser before eventually hiring her as his district director.
The Adams have been outspoken critics of same-sex relationships. In a 2019 Facebook post, Melvin Adams suggested homosexuality was largely “caused” by childhood trauma. Adams apologized for anyone he offended after the College Republican Federation of Virginia called Adams’ comments “abhorrent.”
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include a response from Bob Good and Sandra Adams.
