AZ GOP state senate candidate Mark Finchem goes on talk show with antisemitic host

Former Republican lawmaker and candidate for Arizona Senate Mark Finchem went on a talk show hosted by a conspiracy theorist and spread some conspiracy theories himself on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The host of the show has falsely claimed the Jewish people were behind 9/11.

Finchem unsuccessfully ran for Secretary of State in 2022, won the Republican primary for Legislative District 1 in July and is anticipated to return to the Arizona Legislature come January. Finchem has built his brand on election fraud and other conspiracy theories and is also known for his association with and support from extremist groups like the Oathkeepers.

On Sept. 11, Finchem went on Scott McKay’s show, streamed on Rumble. Also known as “Patriot Streetfighter”, McKay has a history of espousing antisemitic beliefs, as first reported by the left-leaning Media Matters for America.

McKay, a central figure in a movement during the pandemic to harass school boards for mask mandates, has espoused antisemitic beliefs and has also praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

McKay has falsely claimed that Jewish people built up Hitler as a way for them to profit from World War II and praised the dictator for trying to break “free of the Rothschilds’ corrupt money-magic fiat system,” alluding to an antisemitic conspiracy theory. He has also said that “Hitler was actually fighting the same people that we’re trying to take down today.”

Finchem did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

“Mark Finchem recently appeared on an antisemite Scott McKay’s program and thanked him for his offer for help, should he win his Senate seat. McKay is someone who praised Hitler — he’s not someone whose show you should be appearing on, let alone accepting help from,” Media Matters for America senior investigative reporter Eric Hananoki said in a statement to the Mirror.

The former lawmaker went on the show to promote an “investigation” being conducted by a non-profit he runs that is involved in a bizarre, conspiracy-riddled probe into a Tennessee police department.

Earlier this month, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation raided the Millersville Police Department using a search warrant obtained through a criminal investigation of the department’s assistant police chief, Shawn Taylor.

Taylor had appeared on McKay’s show the day prior and is working with Finchem’s non-profit as an investigator. Two local district attorneys confirmed to local TV station NewsChannel 5 that the TBI had been asked to investigate Taylor’s possible use of sensitive law enforcement data to investigate his potential political enemies.

The investigation also involves the possible perjury of a Millersville detective during testimony he gave in a botched child predator sting, NewsChannel 5 reported.

Both Finchem and McKay had harsh words for the people involved in the case who they allege are corrupt, in addition to other perceived ills.

“Any of you bastards that are watching this, now is the time to get out,” McKay said. “So if you want to save your asses now is the time to step aside…All of you who are corrupt will be held accountable one way or another.”

McKay went on to claim that America is lost and that people like he and Finchem have to “put down this Satanic energy” and that the CIA, FBI and others are involved in child sex trafficking. Finchem also claimed that the television networks NBC, CBS and ABC are connected to the CIA.

Throughout the interview, McKay and Finchem both alluded to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

In its simplest form, the complex and damaging QAnon conspiracy theory alleges that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles are running a global sex-trafficking ring, control world governments and are trying to bring down former President Donald Trump — who is himself single-handedly dismantling the cabal.

McKay referenced “intelligence drops” multiple times throughout the interview, which is an allusion to “ Q drops” which were a plethora of posts on sites like 4chan between 2017 and 2022 that were alleged to be from the infamous “Q.”

Throughout the interview Finchem made a number of conspiratorial claims, without evidence, accusing the judge in the Tennessee case, as well as others, of being involved in child sex trafficking. He claimed that the Tennessee-based journalist who has written about Taylor’s ties to conspiracy theorists is providing cover to perverts and sex traffickers.

Finchem repeated Taylor’s false claim that an agent with TBI urinated in Taylor’s bathtub. The former lawmaker claimed to have DNA evidence related to that allegation.

Finchem has often courted those from the fringe and especially those in the QAnon world. He has spoken at their conventions and held fundraisers with known QAnon believers and 9/11 truthers.

“We are deeply troubled by Arizona GOP Senate nominee Mark Finchem’s recent appearance on a radio show hosted by an individual who regularly promotes antisemitic views and pro-Hitler rhetoric,” Alan Zeichick, board chair of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix, said in a statement to the Arizona Mirror.

“Arizona deserves leaders who will unite us, not those who associate with people saying such harmful ideologies,” Zeichick said. “We encourage the voters of District 1 to send a clear message that bigotry and hate speech have no place in our state or nation.”

Hananoki told the Mirror that with just a little digging, Finchem could have easily discovered McKay’s extremist background.

“Eric Trump even had to disavow McKay after the national media reported on McKay’s antisemitic background,” Hananoki said. “But this is all part of a pattern with Finchem and his association with extremists. He has promoted QAnon propaganda, endorsed an antisemitic pastor who wasn’t even running in Arizona, and praised Gab CEO Andrew Torba, who once said that ‘we don’t want people who are Jewish.’”

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