Tag: janae shamp
Janae Shamp

Arizona GOP State Senator Promoted Neo-Nazis And QAnon Antisemites

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 not responded 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 groyper movement, 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.

Uh-Oh: QAnon Cult Has Seized Control Of Arizona's Republican Party

Uh-Oh: QAnon Cult Has Seized Control Of Arizona's Republican Party

When Arizona Republican legislators recently debuted a committee that was accused of QAnon signaling with its acronym, chair and state Sen. Janae Shamp responded by claiming it was “a goofy accusation.” But a review of Shamp's own Facebook posts found that she has frequently promoted the conspiracy theory: She has posted QAnon videos; forwarded conspiracy theories from QAnon influencers; and shared QAnon slogans, including the phrase of the acronym in question.

Republicans in Arizona set up a committee chaired by Shamp to purportedly “examine federal, state and local efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.” (Its most recent hearing was filled with COVID-19 conspiracy theories.) They named it the Novel Coronavirus Southwestern Intergovernmental Committee, using the acronym “NCSWIC.” Reporters and QAnon experts soon raised questions about whether they were nodding to QAnon, which uses NCSWIC to stand for “nothing can stop what is coming.” (QAnon followers basically believe what’s coming is Trump arresting or destroying the supposed deep state.)

Arizona state Senate GOP spokesperson Kim Quintero called the line of questioning about QAnon “absolutely ridiculous” and “BS.” And Shamp responded to the controversy by tweeting: “What a goofy accusation! Sometimes an acronym is just an acronym.”

Yet Shamp herself has repeatedly shared the phrase “nothing can stop what is coming.” And her Facebook page leaves no doubt that she’s a QAnon devotee who is deeply immersed in the violence-linked conspiracy theory.

The following are among numerous examples of Shamp promoting QAnon-tied propaganda on social media. (This is just a sampling of her voluminous activity.)

  • In a post claiming the 2020 election was stolen, Shamp shared the QAnon phrase “Nothing can stop what is coming.” (She copied the post from a QAnon-supporting Telegram account)
  • She also shared a Trump campaign image that includes the phrase “Nothing can stop what is coming”
  • Shamp shared the QAnon phrase “WWG1WGA” (“where we go one, we go all”).
  • Shamp shared a video she credited to the Gab account Qanon211 to downplay the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
  • Shamp has frequently promoted content she credited to the QAnon influencer collective We The Media. Her shared content includes a false claim about Dominion Voting Systems stealing the election and a video downplaying January 6. She also shared their pro-QAnon video that featured the “where we go one, we go all” phrase.
  • Shamp additionally shared a We The Media video featuring QAnon imagery, writing: “I know I've shared this video before but I do believe it is worth sharing a thousand more times!”
  • Shamp posted a video including the text “WE ARE THE STORM” -- a popular phrase among QAnon followers.
  • Shamp posted a video titled “The Trump Wave by ItalyQanons.”
  • Shamp said that she listens to the QAnon show X22 Report “nightly” and also likes the QAnon show BardsFM.
  • Shamp shared a post from a QAnon-themed Twitter account which pushed the conspiracy theory that the Clintons killed Monica Petersen because they wanted to hide their sex trafficking.
  • Shamp has cited Ron Watkins (aka “CodeMonkey”), a QAnon influencer who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Arizona, in pushing election conspiracy theories.
  • Shamp has repeatedly shared content that she’s sourced to Praying Medic, a QAnon influencer.
  • Shamp shared election denial content that she attributed to QAnon influencer Stormy Patriot Joe.
  • Shamp shared a quote that she attributed to QAnon influencer Jordan Sather.
  • Shamp shared election denial content that she attributed to QAnon influencer InevitableET.
  • Shamp shared election denial content that she attributed to QAnon influencer KanekoaTheGreat.
  • Shamp has repeatedly shared the QAnon-promoting account AnonPatriotQ, including to push election denialism.
  • Shamp shared a video from the QAnon influencer aTimeQ that features the QAnon-aligned slogan “the Great Awakening.”

In addition to Shamp, Arizona state Sens. David Farnsworth, Wendy Rogers, and Justine Wadsack have endorsed or promoted QAnon. Arizona sheriff Mark Lamb, who is running for the U.S. Senate, has also been attempting to appeal to QAnon followers.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.