Some anti-Kavanaugh protesters were paid to help make 'viral moments,' Vice News editor says

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Flake Confronted by Protester for Supporting Kavanaugh

Advocacy groups paid protesters opposing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court to help create "viral moments," including the now-famous elevator confrontation of Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a top editor for Vice News claimed Sunday.

Shawna Thomas, appearing on ABC News' "This Week," said a lot of protesters were "normal people who were mad" about Kavanaugh's nomination. However, she also added that "we also saw people who were organized." She singled out one of the women who confronted Flake on Sept. 28, saying that one of them worked for the advocacy group UltraViolet and "was paid" to "steer people in the right ways to be able to confront senators."

When "This Week" host Jonathan Karl tried to clarify, Thomas added: "There were people who were paid by organizations like UltraViolet, to -- to try to harness that energy in a way that would make the viral moments that we ended up seeing."

Thomas later clarified her statement further, writing on Twitter that "there were some official organizations in the mix who have staff & consultants that were part of these protests. And some of them were helping individuals with tactics. That is not the same as ppl being paid to protest who don’t care about this issue."

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Fox News previously reported that one of the women who confronted Flake is the co-executive director of the Center for Popular Democracy, a group that has received funding from liberal billionaire George Soros. Two other women from that organization confronted Republican senators as they walked through the terminal at Reagan National Airport on Oct. 1.

UltraViolet did not immediately respond to Fox News' requests for comment.