Michael Flynn, who was a U.S. national security adviser under former President Trump, speaks at a campaign event for U.S. Senate candidate Josh Mandel on April 21. Photo: Dustin Franz/Getty Images
Michael Flynn is trying to oust the leader of the Sarasota County Republican Party's executive committee for not being hardcore enough.
Driving the news: Flynn recently applied to join the executive committee in the Republican-heavy county and has been targeting its head, Jack Brill, on social media, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.
Background: Flynn, a retired army lieutenant general and former President Trump's first national security adviser, moved to Englewood in 2021, shortly after being pardoned by Trump for lying to the FBI.
- Flynn has continued to claim that Trump won the 2020 election.
The big picture: Across the state, far-right conservatives have upped the pressure on the GOP establishment, urging more active support for Trump and conservative activism on local boards.
Zoom in: These are Flynn's most aggressive local efforts to date and "reflect a movement within the party to transform it from the bottom up," H-T political editor Zac Anderson reports.
Yes, but: State Sen. Joe Gruters, who chairs the state Republican Party, called for unity, saying disputes should be put off until after the November elections.
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