I've been wracking my brain, and the only logical reason I can think of for this meeting is for complicit Republicans to cement their unholy alliance with Putin's attacks on Western democracies. Why? And why now? Britské listy, a reader-financed Czech newsite, reports:

Five US Congressmen representing the Republican Party have requested a meeting in Prague with Tomio Okamura, the leader of an extreme right wing party, the Movement of Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD). The following five US Congressmen, Steve King (R-IA), Andy Harris (R-MD), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) will meet Tomio Okamura in Prague on Thursday 25th January at 4.30 pm. According to Okamura's press release, "they will discuss topics of bi-lateral and global importance, including European policy which concerns demographic changes, migration and immigration".

Tomio Okamura is the leader of the most extreme political party which is currently represented in the Czech Parliament. His SPD party won 22 seats in the 200-seat Czech parliament in the Czech general election which took place in October 2017.

Andrew Stroehlein, the European Media Director of Human Rights Watch, says:

"These US Congressmen have chosen to meet with Tomio Okamura, leader of the Movement of Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), who is well known for calling for the banning of Islam and 'external manifestations of Islam.' The SPD's parliamentary party secretary has called for the gassing of Jews, gays and Roma."

After his election last October, Okamura, a businessman and reality show star (sound familiar?) who ran as a Czech populist, said, “We want to stop any Islamisation of the Czech Republic, we push for zero tolerance of migration.”

He's suggested Czechs start raising pigs and walk them near mosques, and urges them to boycott kebab stands, saying, "Each kabab buys a burqa." He's allied with the likes of anti-Muslim extremists like Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilder.

He also wants the Czech Republic to quit the European Union. I wonder how much Putin had to do with his election?

(I hope Russia-loving Dana enjoys the trip. It might be his last one for a while.)

If you live in any of these scary wingnuts' congressional districts, it might be a good idea to call their offices and ask your congressmen exactly why they're meeting with a neo-Nazi extremist whose party wants to gas people. All you need is your zip code.

202-224-4121

UPDATE. Britské listy reports the visit was cancelled at the last minute, due to ongoing budgetary problems in the US Congress. It's still a good idea to ask why they wanted to go in the first place.