Pompeo aides complained about Orlando event with Florida group that backs gay conversion therapy: report

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Aides of the Secretary of State complained Mike Pompeo addressed a Florida group in Orlando knowing the group promotes conversion therapy for LGBTQ individuals.

Members of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s advance team discovered overtly anti-gay flyers when researching “the Florida Family Policy Council’s” website prior to the event, according to a report by the Miami Herald. The secretary’s decision to address the group was initially flagged after State Department employees found the group offers LGBTQ individuals “help leaving the gay lifestyle” or conversion therapy - a discredited practice of trying to change the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.

However, Pompeo reportedly addressed the Orlando event anyway, virtually, on Oct. 3 to a crowd of 700 people, the Herald reported.

Pompeo had originally planned to be at the event in person, and even offered a “personal visit” with himself for those who sponsored a table of $10,000. Additionally, guests could have access to a VIP reception for ticket prices ranging between $3,000 and $5,000.

The State Department has condemned conversion therapy programs abroad in its human rights reports as among “acts of violence, discrimination, and other abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity” the Herald reported.

Pompeo is under several investigations with one by State Department inspector general looking into whether he used used taxpayer dollars and official personnel for personal errands, and a second by the Democratic-led House Foreign Affairs Committee investigating whether he has used State Department resources to deliver a series of domestic political speeches ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Read the full report at the Miami Herald.

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©2020 The Orlando Sentinel (Orlando, Fla.)

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