Maine legislators condemn Representative who spoke at event featuring antisemitic conspiracy theorists

Three state senators and more than 50 members of the Maine state legislature, including the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, and the Senate Majority Leader, signed a letter condemning Maine Representative Heidi Sampson for participating in an event hosted by an alleged “known antisemitic conspiracy theorist.”

The event held in Belfast, Maine in July was part of a tour known as the “Arise USA! Resurrection Tour.” Robert David Steele, one of the organisers, has allegedly claimed that “elite Jews” were responsible for the Holocaust and has also claimed that “Zionists” funded 9/11, “control the American media” and belong to the “Synagogue of Satan.” It also featured several speakers known for overt antisemitism.

In their letter, the legislators expressed concern at “the impact of hateful rhetoric,” and noted that Mr Steele peddles the same “baseless” antisemitic conspiracy theories “that have been used through history in vicious campaigns” to “spread fear of Jewish people”, including the idea that “satanic Zionists” kidnap children. Now, however, the letter notes that there were “new twists” with Mr Steele claiming that “Zionists” were engaged in “a plot against white people.”

The letter went on to say that by speaking at the event, Ms Sampson had “given the legitimacy of her elected office” to Mr Steele’s “hateful and false claims” that threatened “Jewish families, individuals and institutions” in Maine and as members of the legislature, “we condemn Rep Sampson’s participation in the event.”

This antisemitic rhetoric was “not only categorically false” but was “directly threatening to the safety, dignity and well-being of all Jewish people in Maine” where antisemitic incidents had “seen an uptick in recent years.”

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