Ed Gillespie Knowingly Accepted Endorsement from Vocal Assad Promoter Senator Dick Black

Yesterday, Ed Gillespie’s campaign refused to sever ties with known Bashar Al-Assad supporter Dick Black.

What’s alarming though is that it has been known for years that Senator Black has been an aggressive Bashar Al-Assad promoter. Not only did Senator Black participate in an interview yesterday and write an op-ed defending Assad’s heinous attacks on civilians -- but he has been aggressively supporting the war criminal for years:

In May 2014, Sen. Black sent a letter of praise to Assad, which thanked the Syrian army for their violent fighting and reprehensible acts in the midst of a three year civil war. It was reported that Assad posted Sen. Black’s letter on hisFacebook page, and in which he praised the dictator’s army as “heroic.”

In April 2016, Senator Black traveled to Syria to “support” Assad, and claimed that he would be “Syria’s voice.” He later tweeted that “If Assad Fails, ISIS will secure Syria and march on Europe.”

“Senator Black has put his recent time and energy into promoting the work of two men -- Ed Gillespie and Bashar Al-Assad,” said DPVA spokeswoman Christina Freundlich. “It is alarming that Gillespie would accept Senator Black’s support, knowing that he has been defending the acts of a heinous war criminal like Assad for years.

“Once again, Ed Gillespie needs to immediately renounce Senator Black’s endorsement if he cares about protecting innocent lives in the midst of an inhumane civil war.”