Eight Times Jack Ciattarelli Lied About Headlining a Trump “Stop the Steal” Rally

Extreme Republican Candidate Continues Desperate Attempts to Rewrite History

TRENTON, NJ — Since headlining a Trump-supporting “Stop the Steal” rally with Confederate flags and white supremacists in November 2020, Republican gubernatorial candidate Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli has desperately tried to rewrite history. It’s no surprise that Ciattarelli has repeatedly lied about his involvement — extreme right-wing gatherings like the rally he spoke at helped spread Trump’s “Big Lie” about the 2020 election and led to the January 6th U.S. Capitol Insurrection.

But now, even in the face of a newly-released video showing Ciattarelli speaking in front of a “Stop the Steal” sign and a promotional flyer for the rally that prominently featured him, his campaign is still denying the obvious truth. This is part of a pattern of desperate lies and deceptions from Ciattarelli, the same candidate who asked a crowd of far-right Republicans for some “wiggle room” to mislead voters about his extreme positions.

“This is the moment Jack Ciattarelli has been dreading for the last eight months, when his lies and desperate attempts to rewrite history and erase his embrace of the deranged ‘Stop the Steal’ conspiracy would completely fall apart in the face of irrefutable video evidence,” said NJDSC Spokesman Phil Swibinski. “It’s time for Jack to face the truth: he shamelessly spread Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ about the 2020 election and didn’t give a damn about the consequences, including the January 6th U.S. Capitol Insurrection. It’s all about extreme politics for Jack Ciattarelli, and New Jerseyans won’t forgive him for embracing Trumpism for his own selfish political benefit.”

Eight Times Ciattarelli Lied About Headlining a “Stop the Steal” Rally

1. September 15, 2021: “‘We’ve seen him say time and again that President Biden won the election,’ Ciattarelli campaign spokeswoman Stami Williams said, adding he didn’t know the event was a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally.’” NJ.com

2. August 9, 2021: “A former state lawmaker who once called Trump a ‘charlatan’ unfit for office, Ciattarelli was an old-school New Jersey moderate. Then he spoke at a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally last fall and gradually warmed to Trump’s policies — all part of walking the tightrope of a primary with opponents who tried to turn the race into a Trump loyalty test. (Ciattarelli has since claimed he wasn’t aware of the rally’s theme and that it ‘turned into something else’ after he arrived.)” NJ.com

3. May 30, 2021: “He also appeared at a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster in November, though he claimed he wasn’t aware of the event’s theme and that it ‘turned into something else after I was there.’” NJ.com

4. May 23, 2021: “The Somerset County politician also appeared at a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster in November, though he claimed he wasn’t aware of the event’s theme and that it ‘turned into something else after I was there.’ Ciattarelli’s campaign says the candidate has repeatedly acknowledged that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election over Trump.” NJ.com

5. March 15, 2021: “JC: In fairness to me, I was invited personally by the organizer of that event. He told me at the time of that personal invitation, which took place over the phone, it was a 121 rally, 121 meeting the governorship and all 120 seats in the state legislature. If he had told me it was a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, I would not have attended. I don’t think those were good for the nation. Joe Biden’s our legitimate president.

HOST: Did you get an inclination of what it was while you were there?

JC: I did not because I was there very early on and I left only a half hour into the event. I understand that it did turn into something else later on. When a great many more people showed up and it turned into a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally’”. Jersey Matters

6. March 4, 2021: “But in January 2020, he attended the Trump rally in Wildwood, and in November, he spoke at a Stop the Steal rally in Bedminster. “That turned into something else after I was there,” he says. “It was never advertised to me as a Stop the Steal rally.” New Jersey Monthly

7. February 14, 2021: “When I asked [Ciattarelli] about his appearance at the ‘Stop the Steal’ rally, he said he didn’t realize it was about grievances over the election, saw no signs, heard no chants, just spoke about state issues and left. The rally organizer, Savas Savidas, said he has a recording of Ciattarelli’s talk, but he declined to share it. Hmmm.” NJ.com Moran column

8. January 21, 2021: “And so the rally that I attended after the election was not a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally. That’s been what’s said in the press. It was advertised to me as a 121 rally meaning the governor and 120 in the state legislature up for election this year. And so for me it was not a ‘Stop Steal’ rally. It was a 121. But the press has portrayed it differently.” Ciattarelli appearance at Berkeley Heights GOP Meeting