So back in June Ian T. Masters, a member of the House of Delegates, posted some anti-Semitic comments:

The comment in question was made three days ago by an account with the handle @NoQuarterMasters in response to another comment on a post from April 12 about Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports. The comment read: “[Portnoy is] not white. He’s a Jew. We never claimed them. That’s why he’s short tiny and weak.”

Masters of course denied it. But you know, facts are pesky things:

Until Tuesday afternoon, the name on the @NoQuarterMasters account was Ian T. Masters and the link in the bio was for the West Virginia Citizen’s Defense League, a Second Amendment advocacy group where Masters served as president from 2015 until at least January 2025, when he was appointed by Gov. Patrick Morrisey to serve in the West Virginia House.

By 2:20 p.m. — after Masters’ conversation with West Virginia Watch — the name on the account was changed to I. Masters and the link to the state Citizens Defense League was removed from the bio.

Wait, there’s more:

The profile picture on @NoQuarterMasters shows a letter addressed to “Ian” in West Virginia. The rest of the information in the letter is covered up by runes burnt into wooden pendants hanging from strings. 

The runes include several symbols listed by the Anti-Defamation League, an advocacy organization dedicated to stopping anti-semitism across the world, as antisemitic symbols used by groups and individuals espousing white supremacist, neo-Nazi and antisemitic ideals. The runes include the Valknot, the Life Rune and the Wolfsangel, among others.

Seems like a nice guy.

You might be wondering how he won his seat and why none of this came out during the election. Well, he was chosen by our carpetbagging governor to fill the seat after the guy who won the seat was charged with threatening to kill his fellow lawmakers. I cannot believe I had to write that sentence. And I wrote about that weirdo in my series of posts about the weirdos of West Virginia. Who would have thought a wingut whose lies would put George Santos to shame would end up making terrorist threats? I mean, besides everyone paying a modicum of attention to these people.

Masters of course denied that he had written that post or that he even has an Instagram account, even though West Virginia Watch proved that his denials are easily-debunked lies. Not one to quit while he was behind, his allies in the House of Delegates added another layer of unbelievability to the story:

In a June 25th interview with West Virginia Watch, Masters denied leaving the comment and said he didn’t have “any active Instagram account.” The next day, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, told MetroNews Talkline that Masters told him the @NoQuarterMasters account used to be his, but he no longer used it. 

According to McGeehan’s radio interview, Masters knew the person who allegedly left the comment through his late brother. When Masters was visiting his hometown in Hancock County “sometime last year,” McGeehan said he ran into the “younger guy” and wanted to help him.

“… [Masters] gave resources to him — gave money, he gave him his old iPhone which didn’t have any cellular service, but you could work it with WiFi or whatever,” McGeehan said.

McGeehan said Masters’ social media accounts, including Instagram, were still logged in on the phone. The person opened them, McGeehan said, and used Masters’ account to leave the antisemitic comment.

“I don’t even think he knew he was on [Masters’] account,” McGeehan said.

McGeehan would not name the individual who he claims made the comment, saying he was “very sick,” “basically homeless” and living with substance use disorder after a recent extended hospital stay where he woke up from an almost two-month-long coma.

Oh, so Masters was playing Lady Bountiful and this “basically homeless” guy stabbed him in the back. How convenient that the explanation is also an example of the undeserving poor, huh?

“Look, this is a guy that is probably going to eventually die in the near future, either from the disease he has or from overdosing on the narcotics he’s been prescribed to deal with it,” McGeehan said. “… so I’m not getting [him] involved.”

YIKES.

West Virginia Watch left a voicemail for McGeehan on Tuesday afternoon. He responded via text: “Do not contact me.”

Ah, yes, the always trustworthy response to a story built on lies:  buzz off.

So it all sounds legit, no? Not to some clergy members from one WV county:

In their letter to Hanshaw, the clergymembers from Monongalia County said McGeehan has “waived off the scandal” and that his own investigation is not an appropriate conclusion given the allegations at hand.

“McGeehan stated publicly that he has looked into the matter and that he will not further pursue what he is alleging has taken place: the federal crime of impersonating a lawmaker. He has also stated that he is a longtime friend of Delegate Masters,” the clergymembers wrote. “For these reasons we believe he is unable to impartially and fully investigate the matter. We are calling upon [Hanshaw] to initiate a full, impartial investigation to right the prejudiced wrongs being perpetuated by members of the House.”

OK, even if you assume that this story is true:

• If Masters didn’t make that comment, his account is still of white supremacist and neo-Naz imagery, and he wasn’t properly vetted by the public via an election since our worthless governor appointed him.
• If Masters didn’t make that comment, why did he spend time deleting stuff that linked him to that Instagram account after it was posted?
• Who gives someone their old phone without first wiping all of their personal information from it?
• Did you notice that the Republicans HAD to shove in a reference to how poor people are so ungrateful and why even try to help them because all it will do is come back to hurt you?

All Republicans do is lie—and poorly at that.

This whole thing is so crazy. I’ll let the woman originally from down the road take it from here.