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State Sen. Wendy Rogers appears on antisemitic news show. Again.

By: - July 23, 2021 7:38 pm

State Sen. Wendy Rogers, right, and TruNews interviewer Lauren Witzke. Rogers tweeted about her appearance on TruNews.

Flagstaff Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers appeared again on an online TV network that has made multiple antisemitic remarks. 

Rogers tweeted about her appearance on TruNews earlier this week. She was interviewed about the Senate’s review of the Maricopa County election and repeated the debunked claims spread by auditors at the Senate’s recent hearing. 

TruNews has a history of antisemitic rhetoric on the site, the most infamous of which is a piece in which the founder, Rick Wiles, spent an hour and a half saying that “seditious Jews” were “orchestrating” to impeach Trump. 

Calling the Jewish people “tyrants.” Wiles has also claimed that the anti-Christ will be a “homosexual Jew.”  

This week’s appearance is Rogers’ second on the show. And, like her first appearance in June, she was interviewed by Lauren Witzke

Witzke is a conspiracy theorist and has echoed white nationalist beliefs herself. During an appearance on the white nationalist podcast No White Guilt, Witzke echoed the “great replacement theory” which was also promoted by Rogers recently

That idea, popular among white supremacists, holds that white Americans are being replaced by immigrants. It has been seized upon by extremist groups such as the American Identity Movement and Generation Identity.

It has also stoked violence, including Anders Behring Breivik’s murderous rampage in 2011 at a Norwegian youth summer camp and the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh in 2018, the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in United States history. Just before it took place, the killer took to right-wing social media site Gab to say he believed that immigrants were being brought in to replace and “kill our people.” 

The next year in New Zealand, 51 people would be killed and 40 injured but not before the shooter would post a 74-page manifesto titled “The Great Replacement.” 

Again in 2019, in El Paso, Texas, a shooter who would kill 23 in a Walmart would cite the manifesto in one of his own saying it was a response to the “hispanic invasion of Texas.” 

Witzke told Rogers that the TruNews crew are all “really big fans” and that Rogers was her “favorite state legislator.” In a tweet about her appearance, Rogers thanked Witzke and her colleagues.

Arizona Mirror reached out to Senate President Karen Fann for comment about Rogers recent appearances as well as her recent comments about the “great replacement theory” but did not get a response. The Mirror also reached out to Rogers asking if she was aware of Witzke and TruNews’ background but did not get a response.

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Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
Jerod MacDonald-Evoy

Reporter Jerod MacDonald-Evoy joined the Arizona Mirror from the Arizona Republic, where he spent 4 years covering everything from dark money in politics to Catholic priest sexual abuse scandals. He brings strong watchdog sensibilities and creative storytelling skills to the Arizona Mirror.

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