The announcement to include an American Sign Language interpreter in the White House daily briefings was cheered as inclusive and ground-breaking. But in their great zeal to fill this position, the White House didn't think to vet the ASL interpreter, Trump-supporter Heather Mewshaw, before hiring her.
Turns out she's been a longtime Trumper who sports a MAGA hat, runs a far-right group of interpreters called Hands of Liberty, and was banned on Facebook for "violating community standards," according to Inside Edition (video below).
From Time:
Mewshaw's group, which was originally known as Right Side ASL and had pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and far-right app Parler, changed its name to Hands of Liberty after its previous Facebook page was deleted in November. "Sad News: Our Facebook Page, Right Side ASL Backup, has been flagged for violating community standards and will be taken down at any time. It's up to Facebook to decide. Not us," read a post on the Hands of Liberty ASL page on Nov. 17.
The post was titled "Admin Update" and featured a video of Mewshaw signing in ASL. The same post also said the group was closing its Twitter, Instagram and Parler accounts, but encouraged followers to find it on MeWe, a Facebook alternative, and Gab, another app frequently used by right-wing extremists that saw increased interest around the time of the Capitol attack. A comment on the "Admin Update" post was addressed to "Heather" and was responded to by the page's administrator.
It's one thing to be inclusive, as President Biden intends to be, and it's another thing to let our guard down and invite the zombies inside the gate.
