Gov Wes Moore faces questions over KKK family story accuracy claims

Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, who is widely believed to have ambitions in the White House, is facing questions about the accuracy of a story about his family’s past having to flee the state of South Carolina because of threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

“I am literally the grandson of someone who was kicked out of this country by the Ku Klux Klan, right?” Moore He told Time Magazine In a conversation in 2023 about how he reconciled his “Patriotism” with the country’s “racist past.”

“Right? So, not only can I be the grandson of someone who was kicked out of this country by the Ku Klux Klan, but I can also be the first Black governor in the history of the state of Maryland.”

Moore frequently referred to his grandfather, James Thomas, as the figure in this story; In a 2020 appearance on the Yang Speaks podcast titled “Wes Moore described how the KKK exiled his family,” he detailed that his grandfather was a minister in Winnsboro, South Carolina, who fled to Jamaica after being threatened by the Klan.

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But a Washington Free Beacon report Last week cast doubt on the details of this story.

The report claims that historical records from the Protestant Episcopal Church and contemporary newspaper reports indicate that Thomas’s departure was not a secret, midnight escape but an orderly, public professional transfer following his appointment to replace a deceased priest in Jamaica.

Additionally, archival data and the diocese’s own historical records indicate that the White community in Pineville, S.C., held Thomas’ church in high regard for his medical services, not to mention racial hostility or Klan interference during his tenure.

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Maryland Governor Wes Moore speaks on stage during day three of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital has not independently verified the allegations in the report, and Moore’s office pushed back on the claim in a statement to Fox News.

“We are not going to sue a family’s century-old oral history with a partisan outlet,” Moore spokesman Ammar Moussa told Fox News Digital, referring to the Washington Free Beacon report. “The broad reality is indisputable: Intimidation and racial terror were common in the Jim Crow South, and rarely came with proper documentation. Even Bishop William Alexander Guerry, whom they cited to suggest there was no hostility, was later murdered amid intense backlash associated with his work for racial equality. The governor remains focused on doing the job Marylanders elected him to do.”

The report on Moore’s portrayal of his grandfather’s life story added fuel to the fire of scrutiny the rumored 2028 White House hopeful has faced in previous stories about his past, including questions about his military background and his Oxford University thesis, reported by both the Washington Free Beacon and the Washington Free Beacon. Raised by social media users recently.

“Wes Moore is being talked about as one of the top candidates in the 2028 Democratic primary, and the guy has already lied more about his life than Elizabeth Warren,” said Greg Price, the Trump White House’s emergency response director for the first half of 2025. Published on X

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Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis (Getty)

National Review editor Ramesh Ponnuru: “Moore reaches Biden’s level of storytelling” Published on X

“Hoo boy,” Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume Published on X. “Read this and the text in response.”

In September, Moore said He is “not running for president” in 2028 and is “excited” to serve out his full term if re-elected in November, but many still believe he has presidential ambitions at some point in the future.