Jonathan Van Ness, Targeted by Trolling Bernie Staffer, Slams Twitter Vitriol from Sanders Supporters

Jonathan Van Ness slammed the Bernie Sanders staffer fired over the private trolling Twitter account and called on the Sanders campaign to halt its supporters’ online vitriol from within. Ben Mora, a regional field director for Sanders in Michigan, ran a private trolling account that went after rival candidates and their supporters, mocking them for their sexual orientation, gender, and looks.

Van Ness had been targeted by Mora, who tweeted photos of the HIV-positive Queer Eye grooming guru and wrote, “Jonathon Van Ness trying to look hot while Daddy Ronald Reagan watches him die of AIDS.”

Tweeted Van Ness: “This is the tweet a former Bernie staffer tweeted from a locked account. How many senior Bernie staffers saw these tweets for months and promoted their behavior? It’s commonplace I endure this by extreme Bernie supporters daily. The change has to come from inside their campaign.”

Van Ness also tweeted to a follower who claimed that the other campaigns also have “stupid” followers: “the twitter vitriol I get daily from Bernie supporters is more than anyone else, including Trump supporters, like five fold. So you can def get outta here …

Added Van Ness: “I’m sorry I can’t. It’s constant. As an HIV+ queer person IF I do have to support Bernie should he win the nomination I want to experience the ‘loving coalition’ right here on Twitter. I’m done taking it & not calling it out. Bernie supporters need to check each other. It also begs the question, on his locked account how many senior level Bernie staffers saw these tweets, knew they were coming out, PROMOTED him, gave a weak sauce call to not bully, and only fired him when it came out.”