TWIN FALLS, Idaho — People living at the Valley House Homeless Shelter mistakenly attended a meet-and-greet last Thursday with former Idaho GOP Chairman Tom Luna.
Luna called it "Pizza and Patriots" where he intended to meet with GOP delegates and potentially earn their vote ahead of his bid at re-election, according to event organizer Tyler Hurst.
A person, who has now been identified, reportedly passed out fake flyers at the shelter inviting guests to "Pizza for the Hungry," where they could meet with Luna to "benefit the needy." People from the shelter were used as a pawn in a political prank, according to Valley House Executive Director John Spiers.
"I hate the fact we got thrust into this, because we had nothing to do with this. But here we are," Spiers said. "We are going to continue caring for people at Valley House and caring for the people in the Magic Valley and as much as possible, avoid this type of political garbage that is happening."
A family from the shelter arrived at the event 15 minutes before it started, according to Hurst. It left him confused at first until the family showed Hurst the flyer they had received.
Hurst, and the Luna campaign, welcomed the family into the event and offered them pizza.
"I'm convinced most people would have done the same," Hurst said. "They were dressed up. They were so cute. This little family comes in, and they thought this was a really special event to meet the GOP chairman on the flyer. They thought this was a really great opportunity for them."
Representative Dorothy Moon defeated Luna for the GOP chairmanship. While she was Luna's opponent in the election, Moon had nothing to do with the prank, according to Hurst.
Moon denounced the prank during her nomination speech this past weekend.
"We are so divided as a party where people we will go so far as to use humans at their lowest as political pawns to make a joke or political point. That's horrible," Hurst said.
Multiple sources told KTVB the name of the person behind this prank. However, no source was willing to confirm the name in an on-the-record conversation.
Spiers gave the person 24 hours to apologize to his staff and guests. The 24-hour window expired and no apologies were issued; Spiers confirmed Wednesday that Dave Reilly was the person who passed out the fake flyers.
"So I got his phone number and I called him and had the discussion. I was on the phone with him for about 15 minutes," Spiers said, "Very much a politician, he wanted to know if I was recording the conversation or if there was anybody else listening and I assured him it was just he and I on the phone and nobody else."
Reilly is a Republican from northern Idaho who ran for governor and received 22 votes as a write-in in the Democratic primary. On his Twitter profile, Reilly describes himself as an "award-winning radio host, independent journalist, Christian Nationalist and F List E-Celeb." His profile also includes hashtags for "America First" and "Bitcoin."
On Wednesday, Reilly posted several messages on Twitter about the controversy, including this: "As someone who spent several months homeless in my early 20s, I'm no stranger to the hardships of life below the poverty line in America."
Reilly also posted a screenshot showing a $100 donation from him to the Valley House on Twitter.
"David Rielly, he donated $100? When did this happen and how did this happen? Because I'm not aware of it," Spiers said, "I guess it's a gesture, but just donating to the Valley House is not exactly the same as an apology, not the way I see it."
Reilly also accused media and "RINO (Republican In Name Only) political operatives" of using the Valley House as a pawn.
"From what I understand after talking to the person, they wanted to make the Luna campaign aware of people in need, because they didn't believe people in need were being seen," Spiers said.
Spiers doesn't believe this excuse, and neither does Hurst.
"Tom was homeless as a child. Tom understands the needs of the homeless population," Hurst said. "If they wanted to do that, why didn't they run a resolution - or rule - or platform at the convention they were at? That sounds like a political answer trying to scapegoat what they actually did."
Join 'The 208' conversation:
- Text us at (208) 321-5614
- E-mail us at the208@ktvb.com
- Join our The 208 Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/the208KTVB/
- Follow us on Twitter: @the208KTVB or tweet #the208 and #SoIdaho
- Follow us on Instagram: @the208KTVB
- Bookmark our landing page: /the-208
- Still reading this list? We're on YouTube, too: