Mary Ann Mendoza pulled from Republican National Convention after retweeting antisemitic theory
This story was updated to reflect breaking developments.
Moments before she was scheduled to speak to the Republican National Convention, Mary Ann Mendoza was dropped from the lineup after she tweeted out a warning about a supposed international Jewish cabal.
“Do yourself a favor and read this thread,” Mendoza tweeted, linking to a QAnon conspiracy theory about a plot by the Rothschild banking family to terrorize “goyim.”
Will Sommer, a tech reporter for The Daily Beast, first posted about Mendoza’s call to her 40,000-plus followers on Twitter.
Exclusive: An RNC speaker set to appear tonight urged her supporters to research an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about a global Jewish plot to enslave the “goyim.” https://t.co/aOpqlQ5OTI
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) August 25, 2020
Mendoza is a so-called “angel mom” whose son was killed in a 2013 accident with an undocumented immigrant. She has been a close ally of President Donald Trump in his attempts to curtail immigration.
Responding to a barrage of online criticism, convention organizers dropped Mendoza from the scheduled line-up. Shortly afterward, Mendoza tweeted out an apology.
“I retweeted a very long thread earlier without reading every post within the thread,” she wrote. “My apologies for not paying attention to the intent of the whole message. That does not reflect my feelings or personal thoughts whatsoever.”
I retweeted a very long thread earlier without reading every post within the thread. My apologies for not paying attention to the intent of the whole message. That does not reflect my feelings or personal thoughts whatsoever.
— Angel Mom Mary Ann Mendoza?TEXT EMPOWER TO 88022 (@mamendoza480) August 25, 2020
The thread Mendoza retweeted from a user called @WarNuse claimed every American president from John Kennedy until Trump was controlled by a global cabal.
Mendoza’s retweet also promoted the antisemitic hoax, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is not a fabrication,” the thread that Mendoza shared reads. “And, it certainly is not anti-semetic (sic) to point out this fact.”
Many Twitter users refused to accept — or believe — Mendoza’s apology. They reposted prior tweets from Mendoza that reflected similar antisemitic views.
In one, dated Nov. 23, 2018, she wrote, “And there you have it! The Rothschilds are using their globalist media mouthpiece to declare that Donald Trump is threatening to destroy the New World Order!”
It seems to reflect exactly how you feel. pic.twitter.com/aQYKPCt1Fs
— Janet Johnson (@JJohnsonLaw) August 26, 2020
In another one, from June 2019, she accused George Soros and the Rothschilds of using violence to bring about a “One World Government,” yet another ages-old antisemitic charge.
This one was an accident too? pic.twitter.com/cFUbMUhMrr
— 7️⃣0️⃣ days until Nove〽️ber 3? (@snowmanomics) August 25, 2020
“This one an accident too?” asked Twitter user @snowmanomics.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO