GOP state AGs campaign group brings back leader who resigned in Jan. 6 aftermath

An organization with the mission of electing Republicans to state attorney general positions is bringing back a former executive director who resigned in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Republican Attorneys General Association announced the position for Adam Piper on Friday.

Piper held the job from 2018 until early 2021.

He resigned after the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a fundraising arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, sent a robocall to supporters encouraging “patriots” to attend an event called the March to Save America and then join a walk to the Capitol “to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections.” The event turned into a storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters.

The robocall did not call for violence or invading the building where lawmakers had assembled to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Under Piper’s leadership, Republicans flipped two attorney general seats in 2019 and avoided losing any in 2020. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who is chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association, said in a statement that Piper’s experience can help Republicans keep the Virginia attorney general seat this year and make gains in 2026.

Piper is a veteran of South Carolina politics.

Attorneys general are the top government lawyers in their states, and many oversee prosecutions.

They have taken an increasingly large role in challenging federal policy when the opposing party controls the White House.