Brad Raffensperger has been disinvited from a trip to Russia he didn’t intend to take.
The Georgia secretary of state issued a snappy retort Saturday after learning he is among 500 Americans banned from the country for allegedly spreading Russophobia, aiding Ukraine or other offenses. The list also includes U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican who represents a district in east-central Georgia.
Raffensperger’s reaction to the dis: Thanks for thinking of me.
“While I was previously unaware of my anti-Russian activities, I accept the verdict of Russia, whose commitment to truth, justice and the rule of law speaks for itself,” he said in the statement. “I can see where my commitment to free, fair and accurate elections, my tendency to speak truth to power and strong stance against war crimes would offend President Putin’s sensibilities. I accept that I’m not their cup of Russian tea.”
Collins’ retort, posted on his Twitter account, was similarly sarcastic and punctuated with an emoji of the United States flag.
“Oh no! The thug with a gas station banned me from his country,” Collins said, in an apparent reference to a key driver of the Russian economy.
Other Georgians on the list, according to reports, include U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, the Republican whose district includes parts of metro Atlanta counties, and Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta and a former adviser to President Joe Biden.
Those with Georgia ties join a long list of national notables that the Foreign Ministry on Friday barred from entering Russia after a fresh round of U.S. sanctions.
The no-goers include former President Barack Obama, comedian Stephen Colbert, dozens of members of the U.S. House, several senators and former ambassadors to Russia John Tefft and Jon Huntsman, according to The Associated Press.
While the list didn’t specify what each banned individual did to cross the country, the ministry said it included officials “who are directly involved in the persecution of dissidents in the wake of the so-called ‘storm of the Capitol,’” the AP reported.
On Jan. 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol following attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Days before, Trump asked Raffensperger to find votes in Georgia, a demand the state’s top elections official defied.
The ministry said it also denied the United States’ request for consular access to Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in late March and charged with espionage. That move was in response to the U.S. denying visas to Russian journalists who wanted to cover Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to the United Nations last month, the ministry said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution two weeks ago that he’s “intensely focused” on bringing home wrongfully detained Americans, including Gershkovich. He made the comments during an interview while on a two-day visit to Atlanta.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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