Deschutes County Republican Party hosts controversial speaker

Oregon Democrats, a Muslim group urged county party to cancel event

A Deschutes County commissioner, another commission candidate and a candidate for governor were among several dozen Republicans who turned out Tuesday to hear a presentation from a former FBI agent considered an anti-Muslim extremist by a national organization that tracks hate groups.

Deschutes County Republican Party members nodded attentively and often chimed in during an hour-long speech in which John Guandolo argued that Muslims and Democrats are part of a vast conspiracy to take over the U.S.

Guandolo, a former Marine, joined the FBI in 1996 and began working in its counterterrorism division following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He left the FBI in 2008.

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