GOP congressman with ties to neo-Nazis complains he’s being ‘smeared’ as an antisemite
In his weekly newsletter, Rep. Paul Gosar accused the Biden administration of targeting conservatives and Christians ‘like me’
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) on March 17, 2021. Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh May 30, 2023
Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican from Arizona, on Sunday lambasted critics who have pointed out his white nationalist ties, and he accused the Biden administration of launching a war against Christians and Republican conservatives.
In his newsletter, sent weekly through his U.S. House email, Gosar linked to a report from the right-wing Media Research Center, which calls itself “America’s Media Watchdog.” In that report, the MRC claims that an anti-terror grant program funded by the Department of Homeland Security is being used to target right-wing think tanks and Christian groups. Gosar cited the MRC’s claim that in one DHS-approved seminar, a presenter said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposal to reinstate a statewide civilian military force suggests that he “may want to start a second Holocaust.”
“This comes as no surprise to me,” Gosar wrote in the email. “In spite of my 12-year record supporting Israel and Jewish causes, I frequently get labeled and smeared as a ‘Nazi’ or a ‘supremacist’ or ‘anti-Semite.’”
Gosar in recent years has repeatedly associated with white nationalists. Media Matters, a left-leaning nonprofit that monitors news outlets, has charged that he has embraced antisemitic tropes and antisemites on at least 30 occasions. In an April 17 email, Gosar promoted antisemitic content and featured a link to a neo-Nazi website praising him for opposing U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
And earlier this month, reports emerged that Gosar employs staffers who are ardent followers of Nick Fuentes, a prominent white supremacist and Holocaust denier. The revelation led a group of Jewish House members to urge House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to censure Gosar. The congressman himself has attended several conferences organized by Fuentes and earlier this month shared a stage with members of the European political party that was founded by former Nazi officers.
Gosar complained on Sunday that he ”can’t do anything” to fight the accusations in court.
“We’ve been told we have no legal remedies and the media can simply lie,” he wrote. “You will see conservatives like me and Ron DesSantis and President Trump called defamatory names like ‘neo-Nazi’ or ‘white supremacist.’ Know that this is the leftist media working in tandem with the Biden regime to attack us.”
Both former President Donald Trump and DeSantis have been accused of embracing antisemites and invoking antisemitic dog whistles.
Gosar called on his supporters to “stand in solidarity with us against these lies.”
Paul Rockower, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix, said Gosar should be judged by his actions “and the company he keeps.”
“Nothing of his ongoing behavior has suggested that this is anything beyond his usual gaslighting,” he said. “The Jewish community of Arizona knows who our friends and allies are, and Congressman Gosar is not one of them.”
A message from our Publisher & CEO 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
