Republican convention speaker and congressional candidate Burgess Owens plagiarized large portions of his book, according to new report

• GOP convention speaker and congressional candidate Burgess Owens plagiarized large sections of his book, left-leaning watchdog Media Matters reported Tuesday.
• Owens, a far-right activist and former National Football League player, stole material from sources including Wikipedia, History.com, Townhall, National Review, American Thinker, and the Boston Globe, according to Media Matters.
• In one instance, Owens plagiarized eight consecutive paragraphs, Media Matters writer Eric Hananoki reported.

Republican convention speaker and GOP congressional candidate Burgess Owens plagiarized large sections of his book, "Why I Stand: From Freedom to the Killing Fields of Socialism," left-leaning watchdog Media Matters reported Tuesday.

Owens, a far-right activist and former National Football League player, reportedly stole entire paragraphs from sources including Wikipedia, History.com and publications like Townhall, National Review, American Thinker, and the Boston Globe, among several others. In one instance, Owens plagiarized eight consecutive paragraphs, Media Matters writer Eric Hananoki reported.

In another instance, Media Matters reports Owens lifted 148 words almost entirely verbatim from Wikipedia on the definition of "gangsta rap."

The topics featured in Owens' plagiarized segments include the history of Reconstruction, school vouchers, and subsidized housing in Chicago. In the 2018 book, which Owens has promoted while running for the US House in Utah, Owens argues that Democrats are Marxists and aggressively attacks a host of Black Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. John Lewis, a civil rights icon who died last month.

Owens, who is running to defeat Democratic incumbent Rep. Ben McAdams in Utah's 4th congressional district, is scheduled to speak at the RNC on Wednesday night.

The 69-year-old former professional athlete faced criticism recently for appearing on a far-right YouTube show that supports the QAnon conspiracy theory.

The Trump campaign didn't respond immediately to Business Insider's request for comment.