Clarence Thomas' new law clerk brings a history of racism accusations

While working at Turning Point USA in 2015, the new clerk apparently texted another employee, "I hate Black people"

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published February 25, 2024 2:25PM (EST)

U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas testifying during a hearing before the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee April 15, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas testifying during a hearing before the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee April 15, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In yet another scandal involving Justice Clarence Thomas, he recently hired a new law clerk set to begin in the upcoming term who has been accused of being a racist.

Crystal Clanton, a 2022 graduate from the Antonin Scalia Law School, was the subject of a 2017 feature by The New Yorker which revealed that while she was working as a field director at Turning Point USA in 2015, she allegedly sent a text message to a fellow employee reading, “I hate black people. Like f**k them all . . . I hate blacks. End of story.” And while at the time of the feature being written she claimed to "have no recollection of these messages," telling the publication in a statement that "they do not reflect what I believe or who I am and the same was true when I was a teenager," it makes her a worrisome choice none the less. 

As The New York Times points out, Clanton has maintained a close relationship with Justice Thomas and his wife, Virginia Thomas — who once served on the advisory board of Turning Point USA — and Thomas maintains that the allegations against his new clerk are "unfounded." But the racist text message previously mentioned is not the only allegation she's tied to. According to Mediaite, who reported on her in 2018, she allegedly also shared a Snapchat photo during her time at TPUSA of a man who appears to be Arab with a caption she wrote that reads, “Just thinking about ways to do another 9/11.”

 

 

 


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