California Congressman Endorses Anti-Semitic Activist For School Board Seat
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) Image by Getty Images
A Republican member of Congress endorsed this week an alt-right activist known for spreading anti-Semitism, Mother Jones reported Thursday.
California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who was recently condemned for attending a fundraiser with a Holocaust denier, posted a photo on Instagram of him shaking hands with Gracey Larrea-Van Der Mark, a candidate for a school board seat in Huntington Beach, California. In the caption, Rohrabacher called her a “patriot.”
Larrea-Van Der Mark participated in an alt-right protest in 2017 against a workshop on white privilege, the OC Weekly reported. She left a comment on one of the event’s YouTube videos, describing it as being run by “elderly Jewish people” who told the “colored people” what to do. The story also brought to light one of her YouTube Channel playlists, called “Holocaust Hoax?,” which includes about six anti-Semitic videos.
She was subsequently removed from two school district commissions, a move approved by the Anti-Defamation League. “These words and actions call into question her ability to serve as an appointed leader in the Huntington Beach community,” the organization said in a statement.
Rohrabacher’s Democratic challenger, Harley Rouda, put out a statement regarding the endorsement, according to Jewish Insider.
Rouda wrote: “Dana’s embrace of a school board candidate who professes bigoted ideas, who associates with white supremacists and anti-Semites, means Dana is embracing hate.”
Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher
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