WASHINGTON -- Activists who made waves perpetuating a false sex-crime claim involving Hillary Clinton have formed a new super PAC, and they say the first candidate they're backing is Josh Mandel.

Mandel, the Republican Ohio treasurer who is running for U.S. Senate in 2018, is well aware of the men's backgrounds, and this summer spoke out in their support on Twitter. He said they were unfairly accused by the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish civil rights group, of being linked to groups that spew extremism, terrorism and bigotry.

This came after Mike Cernovich, a writer and blogger and one of the organizers of the new super PAC, promoted the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory about a Washington pizza parlor being a front for a child sex-trafficking ring linked to Hillary Clinton. A 29-year-old North Carolina man was sentenced to four years in prison for traveling to the pizza parlor and firing a military-style rifle after reading the fake reports about the pizza parlor.

Cernovich also has said that date rape does not exist and leads to false accusations.

One of the other founders of the new super PAC backing Mandel, Jack Posobiec, also promoted the Pizzagate hoax, according to the ADL. He worked with the group Citizens for Trump and promoted the "DeploraBall," an event celebrating Trump's inauguration and drawing supporters who shun Washington's traditional ways.

Cernovich and Posobiec were described by the ADL as members of the "alt-light," a less explicitly racist faction of the loosely affiliated alt-right movement. Cernovich reacted with a posting on the website medium.com and said the ADL was reckless in its characterizations and that his opinions were stated as a writer, not as a group leader who belonged on a civil rights group's "hit list."

Mandel agreed, saying the ADL's listing was dangerous and unfair.

Sad to see @ADL_National become a partisan witchhunt group targeting people for political beliefs. I stand with @Cernovich & @JackPosobiec https://t.co/N3nC78t4CS — Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) July 20, 2017

The third partner in the new super PAC is Jeffrey Giesea, an entrepreneur who has been cited as an expert in "memetic warfare," or the use of jokes, citations and Internet trolling as a way governments and terrorists spread propaganda and wage wars of ideas. Giesea helped create the "troll army" that boosted Trump in the election, according to a December article in BuzzFeed.

The new super PAC, #Rev18, which stands for Revolution 2018, may not by law coordinate its activities with Mandel and his campaign. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums as long as they operate independently of candidates.

The group filed a statement of organization in late August with the Federal Election Commission, which requires any organization that accepts more than $200 from an individual to disclose the donor's identity. The PAC did not publicly announce support for any campaign or candidate until today.

Asked why it chose Mandel, Giesea told cleveland.com, "He is bringing a new type of energy to the Republican Party that we want to see in 2018." He cited Mandel's relative youth -- 40 -- and said Mandel supports an "America-first" agenda, as do this PAC's founders.

A Mandel campaign spokeswoman has not yet responded to a message seeking comment.

The campaign of Sen. Sherrod Brown, the two-term incumbent Democrat Mandel hopes to unseat, said Mandel should quickly distance himself from the super PAC.

"On a day when America is already grieving, it turns my stomach to hear that a group led by bigots will attempt to influence Ohio's election for Senate," said Justin Barasky, Brown's campaign manager. "Josh Mandel should immediately denounce this super PAC, apologize for his previous attempt at currying favor with them and make clear that he rejects hate and divisiveness as a political strategy."

The super PAC, of course, has a different take on Mandel's past support on Twitter for Cernovich and Posobiec.

"I think that was a sign that this guy gets it and is clearly an independent thinker," Giesea said in a telephone interview. "I wouldn't be in business with these guys" if the controversies of the past year accurately defined them, Giesea added.

"We're upping our game, we're going to be professional, we're going to be credible and we're going to win," Giesea said.

Giesea said he has put up $50,000 of his own money and expects to raise more from major donors. Giesea has worked in the past with Peter Thiel, a major Trump donor, and he told The Atlantic that contributors like Thiel and the wealthy donor Robert Mercer would "be good fits."

But Giesea also told cleveland.com that as the PAC works to "drain the swamp," it will operate differently than many traditional PACs and donors.

"A lot of what we're doing is based around social media, and that can't be measured" entirely in dollars, Giesea said.

Giesea acknowledged sharing similar values as Steve Bannon, the Breitbart executive and political adviser who played an outsize role in Trump's early White House days and remains influential in insurgent political efforts. Bannon and his supporters helped rally votes that saw Roy Moore win an upset, anti-establishment victory in the recent Republican U.S. Senate special primary runoff in Alabama.

"We're broadly aligned with Team Bannon," Giesea said. "We're sort of on the same team, but are we aligned with them right now? No.

"But we're fighting the same fight."