Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl has a campaign event planned for Thursday night featuring a former Braintree teacher who was publicly pressured to resign after photos of him at the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol surfaced online.
Matt Lynch, who quit his job at Braintree High School, went on to win a Braintree School Committee seat last year.
Organizers say Lynch will be presenting at a South Shore Grassroots Alliance event being held in Abington for Diehl at the Emerald Hall Abington Banquette Hall.
With Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito out of the mix in the 2022 race for governor, Diehl is currently the only Republican in the race.
The former Whitman lawmaker backed former President Donald Trump when Baker refused to vote for the Republican, and has been critical of the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions and calls for additional mask mandates.
A Facebook page for Thursday’s night event says it’s being organized in conjunction with other groups like MA Against Mandates, Rockland Parents Against Mask Mandates and Make Americans Free Again Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Democratic Party took notice of Diehl’s event, suggesting it shows why he is “not fit to be Governor.”
“Democrats and many Republicans chose to mark today’s anniversary of the insurrection by remembering the heroes that defended the Capitol and working to protect our democracy from future threats. But not Geoff Diehl. Geoff Diehl has chosen to campaign tonight alongside one of the people who proudly joined the insurrectionists at the Capitol. Rather than condemn the violence of one year ago, Diehl is celebrating it,” said Democratic Party Chairman Gus Bickford.
Baker has described last year’s insurrection as an event that would “stain this nation’s history forever.” Diehl’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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