FIRST ON FOX: A Washington, D.C., official has visited the White House twice since a spokesperson for President Biden said she would not be invited again after praising notorious anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan , Fox News Digital has learned.
Cora Masters Barry, who was named CEO of the city’s recreation wish list committee, gave a speech in mid-2022 praising Farrakhan as a “friend” and “family member,” adding, “I love you more than words will ever say.” ”
Shortly after his comments, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates condemned Farrakhan and said Barry would never be invited back to the White House.
Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates at the podium in the White House Press Briefing Room. (Getty Images)
“The President has unequivocally condemned Louis Farrakhan and the hatred he has represented for decades and has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to do so,” Bates told Fox News Digital. “He also denounces any praise of Louis Farrakhan or his repugnant and anti-Semitic values, including in this case.”
However, according to a Fox News Digital review of visitor logs, Barry returned to the White House in June 2023 and again in December 2023.
Cora Masters Barry hailed Louis Farrakhan as a “friend” and “family member” while speaking at a private memorial service for her late husband, former Democratic Mayor Marion Barry. (Getty Images)
The first visit, on June 13, 2023, appears to have been for a concert on June 19 on the South Lawn of the White House, where Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both delivered speeches. The purpose of her second visit, on December 14, 2023, remains unclear, although it appears she attended an evening reception alongside hundreds of other guests.
The White House and Barry did not respond to requests for comment.
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Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed Barry to her current position, saying in 2021 that she was “grateful to women” like Barry. Bowser notably supported Barry after City Council President Phil Mendelson decided to block him from serving on the DC Arts and Humanities Commission.
Overall, Barry, who donated $500 each to Biden’s presidential campaign and the Biden Victory Fund, according to federal filings, has visited the White House at least six times since Biden took office. functions.
The history of anti-Semitic rhetoric from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan goes back decades. The White House said President Biden condemned Farrakhan. (Getty Images)
Barry has already received criticism about him comments attacking white women and compared supporters of former President Trump to the Ku Klux Klan.
His praise for Farrakhanwho leads the Nation of Islam religious group, was spoken at a private event in October 2022 in honor of her late husband, former Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry.
Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have been heavily criticized by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), founded to end the vilification of the Jewish people, and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The ADL has called Farrakhan “one of the most prominent anti-Semites,” and the SPLC has listed the Nation of Islam as a hate group.
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The White House has repeatedly reaffirmed that the president has disavowed Farrakhan, although the most recent public example appears to be a Senate speech Biden gave four decades ago, in 1984.
The Nation of Islam did not respond to a request for comment.
