Arizona state Sen. Janae Shamp
Arizona state Sen. Janae Shamp has promoted antisemitic influencers on her Facebook page. Her sources include a neo-Nazi who previously said he wants a picture of Adolf Hitler in “every classroom”; a Gab user who urged readers to “Fight the Jews on Every Single Issue”; a QAnon influencer who dreamed of the day that Jewish people would be “gone”; and a neo-Nazi radio host who served a prison sentence for issuing violent threats.
In addition to her repeated promotion of antisemites, Shamp has also forwarded QAnon propaganda dozens of times, which Media Matters reported on earlier this week. QAnon itself is steeped in antisemitism. Shamp has notresponded to reporters’ questions for comment about her QAnon activity, but she has taken down some of her posts.
Shamp has also compared people who oppose the COVID-19 vaccine to victims of the Holocaust. In one instance, Shamp shared an image of the Jewish badge with the word “unvaccinated” written over it.
She also posted an image comparing the treatment of the unvaccinated to laws targeting Jewish people in Nazi Germany.
Shamp’s sharing of bigoted accounts is part of a larger pattern of Republicans who have promoted antisemitic media figures and outlets. Those officials include fellow Arizona politicians Rep. Paul Gosar and state Sen. Wendy Rogers. Both of them, along with former President Donald Trump, endorsed Shamp's campaign.
The following are numerous examples of Shamp promoting the accounts of antisemites.
Shamp Promoted Neo-Nazi Blair Cottrell’s Anti-Soros Post
Shamp shared an anti-George Soros post that was credited as “Via Gab - @RealBlairCottrell.” (The writing was originally posted on a QAnon-themed Telegram account.) Blair Cottrell is a pro-violence neo-Nazi who has written of Hitler: “There should be a picture of this man in every classroom and every school, and his book should be issued to every student annually." He has also said, “The Jews are as small physically as they are degenerate in character,” and claimed that Jewish people "infiltrate and subvert entire generations of other nations in a bid for world power.”
The Gab account Shamp directed people to includes Cottrell praising Hitler and his National Socialist German Workers' Party (also known as the Nazi Party). He wrote: “The reason nobody will recreate National Socialism any time soon is because the NSDAP was built from the ground up by a decorated war veteran and thousands of high-stock, stoic German soldiers, frustrated and forced into political action by Germany’s terrible conditions following her defeat in the First World War. … Personally, I don’t even feel like I have the right to call myself a National Socialist. I work hard and am in good condition, however I don’t live morally enough yet.”
Gab itself is a haven for antisemites, neo-Nazis, and white nationalists. It is run by Andrew Torba, who has repeatedly made antisemitic remarks.
Shamp Promoted The Website Of Neo-Nazi Hal Turner
Shamp shared a COVID-19 conspiracy theory article on the website of white supremacist radio host Hal Turner. The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote:
On his radio show, Turner has ranted about “bull-dyke lesbians,” “savage Negro beasts,” “f------,” and even joked about a “portable n----- lyncher” machine. He has a nasty history of threatening political enemies, saying that they deserve to be killed and posting their addresses online. That practice caught up to him in August 2010, when he was convicted of threatening to assault and murder three federal judges.
The SPLC also documented Turner’s history of antisemitism. Publications including The New York Times and NPR have described him as a neo-Nazi.
Shamp Cited InevitableET, Antisemitic QAnon Influencer
Shamp shared election denial content credited to QAnon influencer InevitableET. Vice News wrote that InevitableET (real name Craig Longley) is “a leading and hugely antisemitic voice in the Q community.” The publication reported that he has imagined “the day Trump would leave the White House, suggesting that all Jews would be ‘gone,’ using the antisemitic three brackets ‘echo’ symbol to identify Jewish people. … He has taken part in the ‘Blue the Jew’ movement, where anti-Semites Photoshop images of Jewish people blue, a technique developed on fringe websites to use visual clues to disseminate hateful antisemitic messages while avoiding triggering mainstream platforms’ hate speech rules.” Vice added that Longley promoted the virulently antisemitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Shamp Shared Clinton Conspiracy Tweet From “Groyper”
Shamp shared a tweet from a now-suspended Twitter account named “wxgroyper” that pushed the conspiracy theory that Alabama reporter Christopher Sign’s death was related to the Clintons. The Institute for Strategic Dialogue defines groypers as “a loose network of white nationalist activists and internet trolls who gravitate around several key online influencers. Their goal is to push and normalize white nationalist ideas within mainstream conservatism.” Holocaust denier and antisemite Nick Fuentes is a leader of the groypermovement, which pushes antisemitism.
Shamp Promoted Antisemitic QAnon Influencer Jordan Sather
Shamp shared a quote from QAnon influencer Jordan Sather, who has a history of antisemitism. He has written: “What is the real virus plaguing our world?” He then wrote the echo symbol that’s been used by antisemites to symbolize Jewish people: “(((Them))).”
Shamp Promoted Gab Account Of Antisemite Wyatt, Austere Deplorable
Shamp shared a conspiracy theory post from the obscure and virulently antisemitic Gab account Wyatt, Austere Deplorable. That account, which also supports QAnon, had previously posted antisemitic remarks:
- “Are we, as Gentiles - Satan's Creation, going to sit back and allow this to happen? Or are We going to Fight the Jews on Every Single Issue and put a END to their plan for world domination? I REFUSE TO BE A SLAVE!!” [Link]
- “The little jew started all this and now they are trying to sit back and watch the people devour themselves. This is a classic method of the jews. This is the same thing they did in WW2 and in all other historical times, such as the Roman Empire.” [Link]
- “The jews are very good when it comes to causing wars, frail and afraid when its to carry them. So what do they have to do, is cause Gentiles and other States to fight for them. The jewish oligarchy is pushing Gentile Soldiers to actually do what the jews don't want to do.” [Link]
Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.
Racists, Slavery Apologists, And White Nationalists Knew Exactly What Trump Was Saying About The Civil War
Reprinted with permission from MediaMatters.
President Donald Trump’s comments about the Civil War in a recent interview, in which he diminished the impact of slavery ahead of the war and praised former President Andrew Jackson, echo sentiments of white nationalist media and signify yet another instance of intermingling between Trump and his nativist fans.
During a May 1 interview with the Washington Examiner, Trump claimed that “had Andrew Jackson been a little later you wouldn’t have had the Civil War,” adding that Jackson “was a very tough person but he had a big heart. He was really angry that he saw with regard to the Civil War.” Trump went on to say, “People don’t ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? Why could that one not have been worked out?”
As Jamelle Bouie, then of The American Prospect wrote, “Civil War historians disagree on many things, but there is a general consensus surrounding the reasons for the war, and slavery is at the top of the list.” Tony Horowitz of The Atlantic stated, “The Civil War today is generally seen as a necessary and ennobling sacrifice, redeemed by the liberation of four million slaves.” And, as noted by Ta-Nehisi Coates, the Civil War “ended slavery, and birthed both modern American, and modern black America.”
Trump’s remarks were largely panned for being “puzzling” and “fact-free.” But as historianswarned would happen, white nationalist media figures praised his comments, saying that Trump was “right about the UnCivil War” and that “none of the modern wars have advanced the White race and our shared civilization.”
By questioning the cause of the Civil War, Trump was blowing a dog whistle to white nationalist media figures and neo-Confederates, tacitly supporting the revisionist history they promote. The white nationalist website VDare, for example, has claimed that the idea that the Civil War was meant to “preserve the Union and free the slaves” is a “lie.” White nationalists have also attempted to dismiss the traumas of slavery, writing that it “wasn’t as bad as you were taught.” So when Trump suggested that the war could have been avoided or that the cause was unknown, he was echoing the sentiments of white nationalists by diminishing the impact slavery had in the United States.
Additionally, Trump’s repeated praise for Jackson has drawn support of white nationalist media figures who are similarly drawn to Jackson. White nationalist websites like The Daily Stormer have praised Jackson for kicking Native Americans off their land, writing, “They were killing kids, raping and killing women – it was a horrorshow (sic) with these tree-monkeys (sic).” The white nationalist website Infostormer called Jackson “a legitimate bad ass,” writing, “He fought in duels, won the Battle of New Orleans and abolished the Second Bank of the United States,” which Jackson had said was an elitist institution that lacked proper oversight.
When Trump praises Jackson, white nationalists take note. After Trump hung a portrait of the late president in the Oval Office, Infostormer said it was “great news” because “there is a good chance Trump plans on shaping his presidency to be in the same vein as Jackson[’s].” When Trump visited Jackson’s tomb, Infostormer lauded Trump for “recognizing the greatness that was Andrew Jackson.”
Trump has had a long history of interacting with white nationalist media figures. His latest comments are yet another wink and nod to his nativist supporters.
Graphic by Dayanita Ramesh