.

Rep. Roe pictured with known Holocaust-denier, claims he was 'not aware'

@ # State
phil_roe

D.C. (WVLT) -- A photo of Tennessee U.S. Representative Dr. Phil Roe with Chuck Johnson, a known Holocaust denier and far-right political activist, was posted on Twitter. Rep. Roe says he was not aware of Johnson's beliefs.

CBS affiliate WJHL reported that a spokesperson for Roe claimed the representative had met with Johnson to reportedly discuss DNA sequencing "at the request of another political member."



Johnson was banned by Twitter months ago for accepting donations to "take out" an African American activist and has previously written about gas chambers and Auschwitz "not being real" during World War II, WJHL reported.

Rep. Roe's office responded to WJHL's request for comment saying,

"Congressman Roe was not aware of this individual's viewpoints nor were they discussed during their brief meeting."

"Had the congressman been aware,"
the statement continued,
"he would not have agreed to the meeting. White supremacist and anti-Semtic views are abhorrent and have no place in our society."

Read the full statement here.