Surprise Surprise: The Karen Who Said โ€˜I Hate Black Peopleโ€™ Just Got Hired By Clarence Thomas

Thomas' latest decision isn't surprising but disappointing nonetheless.

Crystal Clanton, the white woman who went viral for sending racist text messages, including โ€œI HATE BLACK PEOPLE,โ€ has been hired as a law clerk by U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas. The announcement was made last week by George Mason Universityโ€™s Antonin Scalia Law School, which is Clantonโ€™s alma mater.

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Clanton previously worked as a law clerk by two federal judges: U.S. District Judge Corey Maze in Birmingham, Alabama and Chief U.S. Circuit Judge William Pryor of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

โ€œAfter Judge Maze recounted to me how well Crystal performed in her clerkship on the district court, I had high expectations for her on the Eleventh Circuit,โ€ Pryor said in a statement according to the Antonin Scalia Law School. โ€œAnd she exceeded those expectations. Crystal is an outstanding law clerk.โ€

Clanton also worked for Thomasโ€™ wife Ginni and even once lived with the couple. A misconduct investigation was executed by Democratic lawmakers to evaluate Clantonโ€™s past racist behavior following her stint as national field director for the right-wing group Turning Point USA.

In 2017, a damning story about the group in the New Yorker revealed that Clanton had sent a text message to an associate exclaiming, โ€œI HATE BLACK PEOPLE ... I hate blacks. End of story.โ€ That same year, Clantonโ€™s excuse for the alleged behavior is that she did not remember sending the messages.

In addition, she told the New Yorker they โ€œdo not reflect what I believe or who I am.โ€ Clanton then resigned from Turning Point, but then was hired by Ginni. Justice Thomas has previously stated that Clanton lived with the pair for almost a year.

Justice Thomas later defended Clanton in a letter, saying โ€œbigotry is antithetical to her nature and character.โ€

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