Anti-LGBTQ+ Republican mayoral candidate once pleaded guilty to ‘promoting prostitution’

A Republican mayoral candidate with highly conservative values has confessed that she was once charged with “promoting prostitution” in the 1990’s.

Gabrielle Hanson, who is campaigning with an anti-LGBTQ+ and pro-MAGA message, confessed this week that she faced a number of charges in her younger years, including promoting prostitution, money laundering, and engaging in organised criminal activity.

In the midst of her mayoral campaign in Franklin, Tennessee, Hanson was contacted by NewsChannel 5 Nashville and asked for comment on her criminal history.

Hanson then uploaded a video to social media in which she told her side of the story from her past – but NewChannel 5 Nashville claims that she hasn’t told the whole story.

In her video, Hanson claims that, when she was a 30-year-old college student and didn’t know any better, she took a job answering phones for what she thought was a modeling agency.

“I answered the phone. I took a name, I took a number, and a date. At the end of my work session, I would call the owners and give them that information,” she alleged in the video.

“A little over a year on that job, one day the police came knocking at my door. Little did I know that they had also been operating a very lucrative casting couch. I was shocked. I was devastated.”

She goes on to claim that, upon their investigation, police realised that Hanson “had not handled any administrative duties” and simply answered the phone.

However, the news station has since uncovered more of the story after speaking to legal analyst Nick Leonardo.

Leonardo noted that, if Hanson had only been answering phones, police would not have filed charges against her, and instead used her for information to arrest people “higher up the ladder” in the operation.

Upon further investigation, the station found a number of charges that had been filed against Hanson at the time, when she went by Laraine Gabrielle Bush.

As well as one charge of money laundering in April 1993, Hanson had also faced charges of promoting prostitution and engaging in organised criminal activity in March 1995.

Not only that, but the Texas Department of Public Safety informed the media outlet that Hanson had gone by the alias ‘Julie Newhouse’ at the time.

Leonardo told the station that, based on these findings, Hanson’s story “doesn’t add up”.

“Typically victims don’t have an alias. Typically, victims go by their real names,” he said.

“So the fact that there is an alias certainly doesn’t lend credence to her story that she was simply answering the phone.”

Additionally, Hanson claimed in her video that she only took the plea deal because she couldn’t afford an attorney.

But, according to the news station’s investigation, Hanson and her parents bought a beachfront condo in Florida just one year prior, in Laraine Gabrielle Bush’s name.

The address, they noted, was linked to a business called J. Neuhaus & Associates, linking back to Hanson’s alleged alias.

Upon informing Hanson of these discoveries, NewsChannel 5 Nashville has not heard back from the mayoral candidate.

Hanson has built her campaign on conservative, anti-LGBTQ+ ideals

According to Hanson’s campaign website, she is running on “restoring traditional values and protecting families.”

She also makes a number of veiled references to her anti-LGBTQ+ ideals, like “standing against radical ideologies”, “safeguarding religious liberties”, “protecting children from harmful influences”, and safeguarding the city from divisive agendas.”

In April, Hanson sparked a wave of complaints against her after she made deeply offensive remarks about a school shooting at Covenant School the month prior, claiming that the shooting was sparked by a “love triangle” that went awry, Tennessee Lookout reports.

That same month, Hanson sparked further controversy when she attempted to bar Franklin Pride organisers from holding their annual event, claiming the celebration was not appropriate for children.