Roy Moore blames LGBTQ people and 'socialists' for child sex abuse allegations against him

The Senate candidate claims his opponents 'want to change our way of life and put man above God'

Senate candidate Roy Moore has blamed the numerous sexual misconduct allegations against him on socialists and LGBTQ people.

Mr Moore, who is running for the US Senate seat from Alabama, has been accused by multiple women of pursuing them when they were teenagers and he was in his thirties. One woman said she was only 14 years old when he initiated sexual contact with her.

Mr Moore has repeatedly denied these allegations and refused to step down from the race, despite the urging of fellow Republicans in Washington.

At a campaign rally at Magnolia Springs Baptist Church in Alabama, Mr Moore boasted he was still leading in the race, despite the fact that “they” had pulled out all the stops to thwart him.

"When I say they, who are 'they?'" he asked the congregation. "They’re liberals. They don’t hold conservative values. 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 is our God.”

Mr Moore also extended his criticism to the Republicans in Congress, claiming that they “simply [want] to keep their jobs do the same thing, keep everything the same so they don’t lose their position, their power, their prestige”.

Recent polling shows Mr Moore maintaining a narrow lead against his challenger, Democrat Doug Jones. But more than 20 Republicans have called on Mr Moore to step down from the race, and some have suggested he be expelled from the Senate even if he wins. The Republican National Convention has cut off funding to his campaign.

The Republican rebuke came shortly after the Washington Post published claims by three women who said Mr Moore pursued relationships with them when they were between the ages of 14 and 18. Three other women later came to the Post with similar allegations.

On Wednesday, Mr Moore chalked the “false, numerous, and malicious” allegations up to “dirt politics”.

"Let me state once again I do not know any of these women, did not date any of these women, and have not engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone," he said. "This is not only odd that things like this occur. It's simply dirty politics."

The Post recently uncovered evidence suggesting that a conservative activist group had attempted to trick them into publishing false claims against Mr Moore. The newspaper investigated the claims, discovered inconsistencies, and confronted the woman about them. She failed to explain them adequately, and the story was killed.