The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has banned Matt Wakulik, a podcaster and self-proclaimed militia leader with a history of violent and often antisemitic statements, from a memorial service commemorating the attack on the USS Liberty this weekend — though survivors appear to be quietly moving forward with plans to feature him as a guest speaker.
Earlier this week, Raw Story reported that Wakulik cited antisemitic conspiracy theories in calling for the execution of President Donald Trump and the torture of FBI director Kash Patel.
The Liberty, a U.S. Navy ship, became the subject of such theories when it was attacked in error by Israeli forces in June 1967, resulting in the death of 34 U.S. service members and the wounding of 173.
The Liberty Veterans Association 58th Anniversary Reunion is scheduled to begin on Friday in Norfolk, Va.
The event has attracted controversy already.
Stew Peters, a popular far-right podcaster, announced he no longer plans to attend after the hotel and VFW post hosting events indicated he was banned.
Peters regularly floats antisemitic conspiracy theories, and has called for a “final solution,” a euphemism for the mass murder of Jews by Nazi Germany during World War II.
Wakulik, a Pittsburgh-area resident, has advocated for a revolution against Jews, describing them in one X post as America’s “greatest enemy.” He has also called for “1776 style action” against “ZOG,” a white supremacist acronym for “Zionist Occupied Government.”
As reported by Raw Story, Wakulik views the Trump administration as beholden to Israel.
“Donald Trump, along with every other president since John F. Kennedy, is a traitor to their country,” Wakulik wrote on X last month, angered by Trump’s failure to declassify files on the Liberty.
“This is just another example of why 95% of all federal government employees should be tried for treason and given the maximum penalty.”
Wakulik also advocated for torturing Patel over his failure to declare Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and sex offender, an agent of Israeli intelligence.
Wakulik has made threatening remarks about other Trump aides. After the 2024 election, he suggested grading Trump appointees “on a scale of how many bullets I put in their heads” — and awarded “five bullets” to Susie Wiles, the White House Chief of Staff.
Wakulik had said he expected to speak at the USS Liberty reunion, on Saturday, alongside Peters at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel.
Though the local VFW post said in no uncertain terms Wakulik would not be welcome, the hotel and the host organization did not answer questions from Raw Story.
The Liberty Veterans Association has previously attempted to tamp down controversy surrounding its guest speakers. Referencing Peters, Executive Director Moe Shafer told local media last month: “If he has any agenda for antisemitism or Jew hating, that will not be allowed, and we have told him this.”
But in an email to Raw Story this week, Shafer declined to say whether or not Wakulik was still set to speak.
“Our reunion is a private event with crew members, family, supporters, and we have done this for years now,” he said. “We do not publish our guest list or speaker list to the public.”
Pressed on Wakulik’s history of antisemitic comments, Shafer said: “What is your agenda with all these questions?”
The weekend-long USS Liberty event includes a reception at the Sheraton on Friday and meetings on Saturday. On Sunday, a memorial service will be held at VFW Post 4809, in Norfolk.
VFW Post 4809 has banned Wakulik and Peters from its premises, Post Commander Eric Mallett told Raw Story.
VFW Post 4809 and the Virginia VFW “support the victims and survivors of the attack on the USS Liberty, and all veterans, but white supremacy and antisemitism have no place in the VFW,” Mallett said in a written statement.
“To make this very clear, if Mr. Peters, Matt Wakulik or any other hate group member shows up on VFW property, they will be trespassing.”
In a phone interview, Mallett said he had a list of about eight other individuals banned from the memorial.
Mallett said participants would lay flowers at a monument to the victims of the Liberty attack, and some may make brief remarks. No speakers are scheduled for a luncheon following the service, he said, adding that post commanders will monitor any remarks made.
“If somebody decides to use that platform for any kind of hate or antisemitism, it’s not going to be tolerated at all,” Mallett said. “If they start that hate group stuff, we’re shutting it down.”
The Liberty, a spy ship, was attacked in the eastern Mediterranean on June 8, 1967, during the Six Day War.
The Israeli government quickly apologized, insisting the incident was a tragic mistake. U.S. investigations supported that conclusion.
Survivors have questioned the official narrative. Last month, Phil Tourney, the president of the Liberty Veterans Association board of directors, who has appeared on Wakulik’s podcast, claimed during a talk in Alabama the attack was part of a plot by Israel and the U.S. “to get us into World War III.”
Last week, Peters said: “The USS Liberty is a really easy way, a really soft and mild way to introduce people to the Jewish question and the Jewish problem.”
After Peters was banned from the Sheraton and VFW post, Lucas Gage, a neo-Nazi podcaster, announced that he would not attend the event.
The decision by the Liberty Veterans Association to ban Peters resulted in “a lot of drama,” name-calling and “hatred towards everybody,” Wakulik said on his podcast, adding that “there was a lot of bad blood” between Gage and the Liberty Veterans Association.
Wakulik said it was “sad” that Peters canceled his trip to Norfolk, adding that “he could have at least come and done some sort of propaganda piece outside and had his crew with him” to document the spectacle.
Peters said he decided not to come to Norfolk because of the cost of paying for armed security, while claiming that unspecified “people want to kill me,” using “their foot soldiers like these antifa people and these Blacks and these f-----s during Pride month that are all pumped full of Jewish propaganda.”
Since his last podcast, on May 31, Wakulik has been uncharacteristically quiet, making no mention on his X account of his plans for this weekend. He could not be reached for comment.
Contacted by Raw Story, a front office staff member at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel said Wakulik would not be staying at the hotel over the weekend. But the employee could not “confirm or deny” that Wakulik would speak at the USS Liberty event there.
Peters said on his podcast that some hotel employees, including kitchen staff, “were refusing to work because I was coming to town.”
Raw Story could not confirm that claim.