Messages leaked to the Washington Post implicate Rep. Paul Gosar, R-AZ, in a plot to create a so-called "Brooks Brothers Riot" in his home state to block President Joe Biden's victory.
Woodrow Johnston, the vice president of political consultancy McShane LLC, told an undercover liberal activist posing as a Trump supporter that Gosar wanted to use the far-right Proud Boys gang to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election in Arizona.
"We might need to do the same here in Nevada," Johnston added in his message.
The protests that Johnston organized remained peaceful and did not actually disrupt vote counting.
Even so, Johnston's boss, Rory McShane, distanced his consulting firm from efforts to organize protests against certifying the election.
"I was unaware of these texts, but I know Mr. Johnston was not working on behalf of any client or organization," he said. "Our management team has met with Mr. Johnston. I'm confident he sees the error of what he did."
Gosar's office claimed that the Trump-loving Arizona congressman was not in contact with Johnston and denied coordinating any election-related protests.
The original "Brooks Brothers Riot," which took place in Florida more than two decades ago, was organized by Republican campaign operatives who successfully disrupted the vote recount in the Miami-Dade County election office after the 2000 presidential election.
