Montana Lawmakers Repudiate Anti-Semitic Slurs
Sign open letter following neo-Nazi website’s call for people to ‘take action’ in Montana city
Bipartisan political leaders in Montana have come together to repudiate an anti-Semitic assault on a city in Big Sky Country.
Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Rep. Ryan Zinke joined Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and Republican Attorney General Tim Fox in an open letter supporting the Jewish community of Whitefish, Mont., and those who have spoken out against a white supremacist website that said followers should take “take action” against members of the city’s Jewish and gay communities.
The Flathead Beacon reported that the website, The Daily Stormer, which is described as associated with neo-Nazis, made the call after the city council in Whitefish issued a condemnation of the ideology of the “alt-right.”
“We stand firmly together to send a clear message that ignorance, hatred and threats of violence are unacceptable and have no place in the town of Whitefish, or in any other community in Montana or across this nation,” the elected leaders wrote. “We say to those few who seek to publicize anti-Semitic views that they shall find no safe haven here.”
“Rest assured, any demonstration or threat of intimidation against any Montanan’s religious liberty will not be tolerated. It takes all Montanans working together to eradicate religious intolerance,” they added.
The three members of Congress had previously spoken against the attacks on Twitter.
The signatories include Zinke, who has been announced as the person who will be nominated to be Interior secretary by President-elect Donald Trump.