North Carolina gubernatorial hopeful Mark Robinson has denied that a controversial far-right figure with a history of spreading conspiracy theories has joined his campaign team.
Jack Burkman said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday that he had assumed the position of Robinson’s acting campaign manager and was looking “forward to a BIG victory in November!”
The announcement came after several members of Robinson’s campaign left their roles in the wake of a recent bombshell CNN report.
Newsweek contacted Burkman for comment via social media.
Robinson, who has already been accused of Holocaust denial and of pushing antisemitic tropes, is alleged to have described himself as a “Black Nazi” on a pornographic message board site several years ago, among other claims. Robinson has denied the allegations as “salacious tabloid trash” and vowed to stay in the race for North Carolina governor.
However, Robinson wrote in an X post that “Online rumors of new hires to our campaign are just that—rumors. We look forward to announcing additional staff roles soon.”
Joe Bruno, a reporter for WSOC-TV, later wrote that “a campaign spokesperson confirms [the rumor] includes Jack Burkman. Burkman has not been hired by the Robinson campaign.”
Robinson’s office has been contacted for comment via email.
Mark Robinson, Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina and candidate for Governor at a campaign event. Conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman claims to have joined Robinson’s campaign team.
Grant Baldwin/Getty Images
In October 2022, Burkman was convicted of one felony count of telecommunications fraud after making robocalls without getting people’s consent first, a crime under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. He was later sentenced to spend 500 hours registering voters in low-income neighborhoods of Washington, D.C.
The calls were made in an apparent attempt to suppress Black voters across several states in the run-up to the 2020 election.
Prosecutors said the robocalls falsely informed people that if they voted by mail in the 2020 election that their personal information could be accessed by police to track down old warrants, as well as credit card companies to collect outstanding debts.
The Federal Communications Commission fined Burkman and a co-defendant more than $5 million over the scheme.
In April, New York Attorney General Letitia James also announced that the pair must pay up to $1.25 million for their “racist and dangerous” voter intimidation campaign that targeted Black voters.
Burkman has also been associated with trying to frame multiple figures such as 2016 Russian interference special counsel Robert Mueller, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and former White House chief medical adviser to the Dr. Anthony Fauci, by falsely claiming they were being accused of sexual assaults.
Burkman also has a history of pushing false claims on social media, including suggesting in July that President Joe Biden is “receiving palliative care and has less than 24 hours to live.”
Robinson was said to have only been left with four staffers following the recent mass departures from his team, reported WUNC.
The list of departures included Robinson’s campaign manager Chris Rodriguez, finance director Heather Whillier, and deputy campaign manager Jason Rizk.
In a statement, Robinson thanked those who made the “difficult choice” to quit in the final few weeks of the campaign.
“Polls have consistently underestimated Republican support in North Carolina for several cycles now and with a large portion of the electorate still undecided as we continue to ramp up our efforts across the state, I am confident our campaign remains in a strong position to make our case to the voters and win on November 5,” Robinson said.
