Ms Nevada stripped of title after sharing right-wing comments online

Pageant has accused her of 'distorting the facts'

Katie Williams has been stripped of her title of Ms Nevada after sharing a series of right-wing comments online, in violation of the pageant's “no politics rule”.

The 29-year-old announced she had been disqualified from competing in the upcoming Ms America pageant and was no longer Ms Nevada in a Facebook video posted on Sunday.

The Ms America pageant, which is set to take place on Saturday, 24 August, is for participants 26 years of age and older.

In the video, in which Williams claims she was told to return her crown and sash, she said: “I just don’t understand how you can censor someone with conservative values when I’m not even really saying anything that’s bad.”

In addition to sharing pro-Trump messages, Williams previously shared her views on Antifa, which she referred to as a “terrorist organisation”.

“If you support their cause, you are undoubtedly anti-American. The people of Portland need to take back their city from this group of entitled children with daddy issues,” the former pageant queen tweeted on 17 August.

However, the beauty contestant, who also said that birth control is not a “right” and that feminism is “ruining America”, feels she has been “censored” for her beliefs.

“If I had more liberal views, less conservative views, this wouldn’t be an issue,” Williams claimed in the Facebook video.

In a statement shared on the Ms America website, it states that Williams is “distorting the facts”.

The statement continues: “ALL the pageant asked of Ms Williams, in writing, is to keep separate social media accounts. One is for politics where she can voice her own opinion as Katie Williams and the other is a new Facebook page for the pageant representing Ms Nevada State 2019.

“None of this had to do with her personal political views. They are immaterial. She has her personal Facebook page to voice her political views. She could be a President Trump supporter on her personal Facebook page all she wants for everyone to read. However, the Ms Nevada Facebook page should be devoid of political content.”

In response to the pageant's decision, Williams shared another video addressing the situation to Twitter, in which she says she does “not apologise”.

“I do not apologise for who I am,” she said. “I’ve spent so many years of my life wondering what people thought of me, that I’m just at a point in my life where I just don’t care. And so I don’t apologise for what I’ve posted. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.”

In July, beauty contestant Kathy Zhu, who was stripped of her Miss Michigan title over “insensitive” tweets, said she believes “coming out as conservative is harder than coming out as gay”.

The Independent has contacted Ms America and Williams for comment.