Current Events > Roy Moore blames accusations on LGBT people and socialists

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Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore made fiery claims on Wednesday night about who is to blame for the sexual misconduct allegations bogging down his campaign.

Moore, the Republican nominee, spoke at the Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Theodore, in southwestern Alabama near Mobile, and delivered more of a sermon than a campaign speech.

He has been plagued by sexual misconduct allegations since The Washington Post reported that he allegedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl while he was 32 in the 1970s.

On Wednesday he echoed a familiar refrain of blaming "liberals" for the allegations. But he also blamed gay people and socialists in an aggressive address.

"They're liberals. They don't want conservative values," Moore said of the people he says are trying to ruin his campaign. "They are the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender who want to change our culture. They are socialists who want to change our way of life and put man above God and the government as our God."

The comments garnered applause from the church's congregation.

At one point in his speech, Moore was interrupted by a male protester, who was quickly removed.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" regular Tony Barbieri, aka Jake Byrd, a comedian who often disrupts newsworthy moments, was also escorted out of the church after asking the candidate about the allegations of misconduct.

As has become rote on the trail, Moore again denied knowing any of the women accusing him of sexual misconduct and, as at a rally earlier this week, called the allegations "dirty politics."