S. Jersey GOP candidate blames hacking for rape comments [Graphic language]

A little-watched race for township council in West Deptford, N.J., has escalated into a social media war after a Daily Beast reporter called out one of her longtime trolls as a Republican candidate for local office.

Michael Krawitz, 41, who is running for the fourth time for a seat on the Township Commitee in the Democrat-dominated town, said it was not he but a hacker who posted via his Facebook account Monday morning, telling reporter Olivia Nuzzi that he wished she would be raped by a Syrian refugee.

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The comments, three in a row and marked by happy faces and extraneous punctuation, came in response to Nuzzi sharing an article about Donald Trump's ex-wife Marla Maples. (Nuzzi did not write the article.)

Reached by phone Monday, Krawitz said he has been an ardent Trump supporter since the 1980s and does post or shares articles on Facebook favoring the Republican presidential candidate. But he denied commenting on Nuzzi's recent post.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/S-Jersey-GOP-candidate-blames-hack-for-rape-comments.html