David Pettinger's Racism Is Welcomed In Idaho
David Pettinger showed up at the Idaho state capital in blackface, dressed as a cartoonish version of Vivek Ramaswamy’s fictional cousin, and pretended to defecate on the statehouse grounds. Yes, this happened, and Idaho’s legislators looked at him and gave him a welcome smile on video.
David Pettinger is not an outlier. He is not some fringe figure casting stones from the sidelines. Pettinger is a symptom of a deeper illness in Idaho politics—one that thrives on chaos, feeds on extremism, and flourishes without accountability. His increasingly erratic and inflammatory behavior reflects the undercurrents of Idaho’s far-right movement, which continues to tolerate and, at times, embrace the very worst elements of its base.
Pettinger’s Display of Racism Disguised as Political Theater
On the opening day of the Idaho legislative session, Pettinger brought his circus to the Idaho State Capitol, demonstrating how far he would go for social media engagement. Dressed in blackface and wearing a red MAGA hat, he introduced himself as "Bibek Ramaswamy," the fictional cousin of GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Flanked by Casey Whalen—another provocateur who works closely with Dave Reilly—Pettinger attempted to ambush legislators, state police officers, and anyone else unfortunate enough to cross his path.
This wasn’t satire. It was racism, thinly veiled as performance art. And yet, it wasn’t Pettinger’s weird fetishes that made this episode so appalling—it was the complicity of those around him.
(Content warning: This video filmed by notorious white supremacist Casey Whalen depicts disturbing acts of racism)
Brian Almon, head of the Gem State Chronicle and paid operative of Dorothy Moon’s Idaho GOP, gleefully played along. In their bizarre interview, Almon addressed Pettinger as "Bibek" and joined him in railing against the expansion of H1-B visas—a legal immigration pathway supported by Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Vivek Ramaswamy himself.
Pettinger’s stunt was met with silence. Legislative leaders did not publicly say anything to condemn or disavow the behavior. Even Idaho’s press corps barely touched the story. Perhaps they hoped that ignoring Pettinger would diminish his influence. But history suggests otherwise.
Silence only validates the work of extremists as their campaign of fear and confrontation becomes more effective.
Pettinger’s Long History of Disturbing Behavior
Pettinger’s Capitol stunt was not his first descent into harassment. He has a well-documented history of targeting public officials and their families, often dragging families into his disruptive protests.
In 2020, Pettinger joined Ammon Bundy’s People’s Rights Network in protesting outside the home of a Central Health District board member. The target’s minor child was home alone, frightened by the commotion.
Another protest saw Pettinger erect an effigy of former Rep. Greg Chaney outside his residence. Chaney’s children were present at the time. The protest, aimed at legislation prohibiting the harassment of officials at their homes, escalated into a grotesque display, with Pettinger posting obscene, homophobic attacks online.
In 2021, Pettinger was arrested during one of Ammon Bundy’s protests at the statehouse, dressed in full Joker makeup. His mugshot—complete with green hair —became a chilling reminder of his escalating instability.
Pettinger, who sees himself as “The Joker,” should be locked up in Arkham Asylum, not running around filming himself defecating on the statehouse lawn. During Ammon Bundy’s assault on St. Luke’s Hospital that landed him and his group over $50 million in damages for their extremely dishonest “Save Baby Cyrus” campaign, the former Idaho Dispatch “reporter” Pettinger interviewed IFF employee Fred Birnbaum, Ron Nate, and other prominent backed legislators there to support Bundy’s lie.
David Pettinger with Ron and Maria Nate, IFF's Fred Birnbaum and Dorothy Moon. Pettinger regularly posts his hatred of Jews and America’s support of Israel in his social media posts. Idaho Freedom Caucus cheerleader Lauren Walker and the well-known white supremacist David Reilly regularly amplify his hate-filled content.
The most cringeworthy example of Pettinger’s repugnant behavior was at the Idaho GOP summer convention a couple of years back, where he appeared as a drag performer wearing a sash emblazoned with the name of disgraced Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger’s rape victim.
The infamous case involved an IFF-backed legislator, Aaron von Ehlinger, who was accused of the rape of former Rep. Chad Christensen’s legislative intern, who was 19 years old at the time. The entire IFF network worked hard to shield von Ehlinger from the accusations.
Dorothy Moon served as a character witness for von Ehlinger during his ethics committee hearing on the rape allegations and did her best to defend her friend. Not once has she condemned the doxxing of the rape victim or any of Pettinger’s disturbing actions. While Moon and her team quickly criticize anyone else and call them her “mortal enemy,” she gives a welcoming smile and nods when Pettinger talks to her on camera while wearing blackface.
Aaron von Ehlinger was convicted of rape and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Ever loyal to his team, Pettinger continues to defend von Ehlinger while regularly harassing and doxxing the rape victim online.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation Rewards Bad Behavior
Pettinger is not a rogue actor. He is a product of the political environment that the IFF and Dorothy Moon have cultivated—one that rewards extremism and punishes dissent. Brian Almon’s performance in Pettinger’s racist capital stunt shows that Pettinger is a welcome part of their propaganda team.
This follows the IFF’s playbook of rewarding confrontational behavior. When Glenneda Zuiderveld published Save NIC’s Christa Hazel’s children’s names and addresse along with employment info on her husband, Brian Almon was present to award her for her bravery. When Mark Fitzpatrick created a marketing stunt that was openly hostile to anyone who was not a straight white Christian nationalist, IFF president Ron Nate presented him with a “Citizen Hero” award.
What happens when you go online and support legal immigration to help make America great? In Idaho, former Presidential candidate and Trump’s DOGE appointee was ruthlessly mocked with black face and racism for going against the woke right.
Vivek Ramaswamy gave significant money to the Idaho GOP during Moon’s Presidential Caucus. One would imagine that candidates who were required to pay a $50,000 fee to participate in the Idaho GOP caucus would receive more respect from the state chairwomen. Instead, Ramaswamy’s significant contribution to the state party was met with a wildly racist video targeting him directly.
A Cog In Idaho’s Far-Right Media Machine
Pettinger’s influence isn’t confined to social media rants or capital hijinks. He had been embedded within the far-right political apparatus in Idaho, playing an active role as a foot soldier and mouthpiece for their agenda. His tenure as a “reporter” for Greg Pruett’s Idaho Dispatch epitomizes this relationship. The site, far from a credible journalistic outlet, functions as a propaganda tool for the IFF political machine and the broader extremist movement.
He and Pruett often platformed extremists like Ammon Bundy, and others within the patriot, militia, and constitutional sheriff movement who share a common distrust of law enforcement officers and agencies.
His personal posts on social media aligned with the IFF political machine’s embrace of Christian Nationalism as he and his friend Dave Reilly often publish their hatred of Jews and other religions that do not conform to their view of Idaho’s population should look like.
A Welcome Mat for White Supremacists
Pettinger is a necessary tool for groups like the Idaho Freedom Foundation and its allies at Stop Idaho RINOs, Citizens Alliance of Idaho, Magic Valley Liberty Alliance, and Moon’s new Idaho GOP. They need people like Pettinger to continue producing hateful content. As long as he goes unchecked and the video views continue to climb online, this will attract more woke-right Californians who agree with their language of elimination and see Idaho as a safe space for their hateful hearts.
Idaho’s woke right has a plan to make Idaho repulsive to anyone who is not a straight white Christian Nationalist, and Pettinger is one of their top social influencers to help make that happen.
One of the most unsettling aspect of Pettinger’s antics isn’t just the actions themselves but the resounding silence from those who could do something about it. Idaho legislators, political leaders, and even some members of Idaho’s press have consistently failed to call out this growing threat to Idaho in a meaningful way. Their apathy enables the disturbance, and one of IFF’s favorite white nationalist pied pipers continues to thrive.
Their silence speaks volumes. By refusing to address Moon and the IFF political machine’s favorite mascot head-on, they signal to Idahoans and the rest of the nation that this brand of racism, antisemitism, and extremism is tolerable, even welcomed, in the Gem State.
I don’t know about you, but I refuse to be silent and let extremists take over Idaho.
About the Author
Gregory Graf is the creator of Political Potatoes and a lifelong conservative Republican. His articles often criticize the hypocrisy committed by far-right grifters who’ve taken control of the GOP. Graf is the CEO of Snake River Strategies, a communications and political consulting firm based in Eagle, Idaho. He and his family moved to Idaho Falls from Utah in 2013 and reside in Star, Idaho.
Disclaimer
The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in the exercise of their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding— are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.
“The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” – Albert Einstein
Excellent piece. There are just too many right-wing crazies in Idaho anymore. We are selling our house and moving to Mexico where we have been snowbirding. Keep up the good fight!