WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – A local candidate for the state legislature says a social media post he made during the height of the pandemic inappropriately equated emergency government mandates with the Holocaust.
Dan Johnson was responding to a Bellingham Herald article that highlighted social media posts the newspaper called “sexist and anti-Semitic,” that spread “misinformation about COVID-19,” called for the “overthrow of government officials” and offered “support for anti-government militants.”
The Laurel resident only addressed one post in his response on Facebook.
That post featured a yellow Star of David, which Nazi Germany ordered Jews to wear, and called it a “new badge” that would allow people to work and travel in Washington.
He says the post “trivialized the darkest time in human history” and doesn’t reflect his values.
The Herald says Johnson’s Facebook page has been scrubbed of the posts, but they were still available elsewhere on the internet.
Johnson is a Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives in the 42nd District.