Attendees at Kansas G.O.P. Event Punch and Kick Mannequin Wearing a Biden Mask

The mannequin was dressed in a T-shirt that said “Let’s Go Brandon.” The county party chair said that “the mask was regrettable and removed.”

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By Anjali Huynh

March 11, 2024, 8:51 p.m. ET

Kansas Republicans are coming under fire for holding a fund-raiser on Friday evening at which attendees physically assaulted an effigy resembling President Biden, according to video footage shared on social media over the weekend.

The event, which took place on Friday in Overland Park, Kan., the state’s second-largest city, was hosted by the Johnson County Republican Party and billed as “A Grand Ol’ Party: Johnson County Road to Red Event.”

The Kansas City Star was first to report on the footage. A video of the event shows attendees hitting and kicking what appears to be a body opponent bag — a lifelike mannequin with a head and torso often used for self-defense training — with a mask resembling Mr. Biden’s face. The mannequin was dressed in a T-shirt that said “Let’s Go Brandon,” a phrase understood to be code for swearing at Mr. Biden. Attendees also appeared to hit karate breaking boards that had the same derogatory phrase.

That footage, originally posted on the online video platform Rumble, according to The Star, has been taken down, but clips have been shared by accounts like “Republicans against Trump” on X.

Maria Holiday, the chair of the Johnson County Republican Party, said that the event had featured an “interactive self-defense” exhibit, which is why the training bag was there.

“The Johnson County Republican Party’s successful series of events last weekend was tarnished by a brief incident where a mask depicting President Biden was added to an interactive self-defense display,” Ms. Holiday said in a statement. “The mask was regrettable and removed. No one collected or solicited any funds or donations in exchange for hitting the training device.”

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