A curious source for U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s attack ads: A convicted turtle trafficker

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Attack ads from U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s reelection campaign cite articles written by a self-described far-right writer with longstanding ties to the congressman and a federal conviction for trafficking protected turtles.

The Bucks County Republican who represents Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District has cultivated a reputation as a moderate. He succeeded his late brother, Mike, in 2016. He has since won reelection four times, including by nearly 13 percentage points in 2024, when his district voted for Democrat Kamala Harris for president.

This election is different. The challenge from former Bucks County Commissioner and teacher Bob Harvie comes amid political challenges for Republicans nationally, including President Donald Trump’s historically low approval ratings, cost of living concerns such as the price of gas — currently averaging $4.46 per gallon in Pennsylvania, according to AAA — and controversy surrounding the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.

At least 28 people have died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody or within 30 days of their release this year, according to the National Immigration Project.

An October poll commissioned by Harvie’s campaign found the two candidates tied.

Democrats in Washington, D.C., are also paying attention to the race. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joined Gov. Josh Shapiro to stump for Harvie in Bucks County earlier this week, highlighting the party’s efforts to unseat Fitzpatrick.

The ads

Fitzpatrick’s recent spate of attack ads cites eight anti-Harvie articles attributed to Dave Sommers. Published on Patch, a local news website that allows contributions from community members, these posts criticize Harvie and make numerous allegations without citing supporting evidence.

Prominently, one ad claims that Harvie is the subject of an FBI investigation, in response to which Harvie’s campaign issued a cease-and-desist letter in July. Fire Bob Harvie, a Facebook advertiser paid for by the Fitzpatrick campaign, repeated this claim Wednesday.

Most of Sommers’ articles read like posts on X; they rarely exceed 50 words, offer no evidence and are generally statements of opinion.

Despite attracting little apparent engagement on Patch or on social media, the posts have found a much larger platform in Fitzpatrick’s campaign advertising.

One reads, in its entirety, “Bob Harvie recruited Amazon to build a Data Center in Bucks County, and he says he wants more. He’s already raised our property taxes, and now he wants to raise our electric and utility bills, pollute our water, and destroy our communities. Bob Harvie receives over $6M in Corporate PAC money. Follow the money. Bob Harvie is bought and paid for by foreign data centers who want to destroy our community.”

Harvie’s campaign received around $2 million in total contributions through June 30, just over $1.7 million of which came from individual donors, according to Federal Election Commission filings. It is unclear how Sommers arrived at a figure of $6 million.

Longstanding ties to the Fitzpatrick family

Public financial connections between Sommers and the congressional campaigns of Fitzpatrick and his late brother, Mike, date back to 2010. Mike Fitzpatrick’s campaign reported paying Sommers around $2,300 for “refreshments” and “mileage reimbursements,” according to FEC filings.

After Brian Fitzpatrick assumed his brother’s seat, his campaign subsequently reported paying Sommers over $2,700 between 2016 and 2022 for office setup and other services.

The connections extend beyond campaign finances. In June, Sommers attended Fitzpatrick’s wedding, posting photos of himself with Fitzpatrick’s new wife, Fox News White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich, and former U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, who endorsed Fitzpatrick on Wednesday.

Sommers is one of 141 accounts Fitzpatrick follows on his congressional Instagram account.

Sommers appears in the background of several of Fitzpatrick’s Facebook photos; he’s also Facebook friends with several of Fitzpatrick’s family members, including his father and sister.

Social media posts indicate that Sommers had a personal relationship with Fitzpatrick’s brother, Mike. Commenters refer to the pair as friends. In 2023, Sommers wished the late Fitzpatrick a “happy heavenly birthday” and referred to him as a brother.

A history of inflammatory posts

Sommers’ social media accounts reveal a personal ideology at odds with Fitzpatrick’s moderate image. In an X post from last year, Sommers wrote, “I’m as far right culturally as you can get.”

His public social media history reveals posts containing derogatory remarks about women, Muslims and Black people.

In one post, he muses about the rape of female Supreme Court Justices; another accuses “lefty women” of manufacturing rape claims to “get their ‘me too’ credentials.” A third ridicules the woman who accused former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens of rape.

Yet another, posted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold birthright citizenship, includes a warning that immigrants would “eventually take over America.”

Turtle trafficking conviction

In 2019, Sommers was convicted of trafficking a protected turtle species, the diamondback terrapin, according to a Department of Justice press release. Over six years, Sommers poached and sold thousands of turtles he’d taken from marshlands in New Jersey, the release said.

He was sentenced to six months in prison. The court also handed Sommers three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $250,000 in restitution to New Jersey’s Department of Fish and Wildlife, according to the release.

Neither Fitzpatrick nor Sommers responded to multiple requests for comment.