Biden rambles about great-grandfather's rumored ties to group of killer coal miners at Pittsburgh rally

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA: Joe Biden claimed that his great-grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, was accused of being a part of a killer coal miner group "Molly Maguires," as he joined Kamala Harris at a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rally on Monday, September 2. 

The POTUS said, "I remember when my great grandfather was only the second Catholic elected statewide in the state Senate here in Pennsylvania. And I remember they talked about – when they'd run against him in 1906 – they said, 'Guess what? He's a Molly Maguire," as per the New York Post. 

Who were the Molly Maguires?

During his address, Joe Biden threw light on who the Molly Maguires were. According to him, "back in the old days," foremen often ill-treated the Irish Catholics who worked in Pennsylvania coal mines.

To retaliate against the oppression, a group of newly arrived Irish immigrants formed a secret society known as the Molly Maguires.

"A lot of the English owned the coal mines," claimed Biden, adding, "And what they did was they really beat the hell out of the mostly Catholic population in the mines. Not a joke."

The group originally emerged in the 1840s in north-central Ireland to avenge tenant landlords who treated their workers miserably, as per History.

The POTUS added that the Molly Maguires would "literally kill" if they found a foreman mistreated an individual.

"Not a joke. And they would bring his body up and put him on the doorstep of his family," claimed Biden. 

Several violent assaults and murders that took place in Pennsylvania between 1861 and 1875 were often blamed on the Molly Maguires.

Joe Biden denies rumors of his great-grandfather being a member of Molly Maguires

Adding that the conduct of the secret society was "crude," Joe Biden repeated that when his great-grandfather ran for Senate, he was accused of being a part of the group. The 81-year-old remarked, "He wasn't, but we were so damn disappointed."

Biden's remarks shocked AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, while Vice President Harris, who stood next to him on stage, laughed. 

"That was a joke. That was a joke," said Biden in his classic fashion. 

The Irish American Magazine, in a 2020 story, apparently confirmed Biden's assertion of accusations about his great-grandfather Blewitt's association with Molly Maguires.

The article pointed out that the POTUS shared a similar anecdote about his great-grandfather while campaigning as Barack Obama's running mate in 2008.

"He went out of his way to prove that he wasn't [a Molly Maguire], and we were all praying that he was," said Biden to a group of coal miners in Virginia at the time.