Conservatives' fixation on being against anti-fascist is on display in San Diego where the local prosecutor pushed anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.
"A district attorney pressing an unusual slate of conspiracy charges against anti-fascist protesters previously had a campaign site accusing philanthropist George Soros of funding anti-fascists to increase crime," The Daily Beast reported Thursday. "San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan has brought a sweeping new conspiracy case against left-wing protesters who counter-demonstrated at a pro-Trump rally in San Diego on Jan. 9. The result was a beachside brawl, during which rallygoers on the right flashed a knife and a BB gun and protesters on the left fired pepper spray. But rather than result in simple assault charges, Stephan is pressing conspiracy charges—and only against demonstrators on the left."
Stephan was appointed to the position in 2017 and won election in 2018.
"Stephan has a history of obsessing about the anti-fascist movement. In 2018, while running against progressive challenger Geneviéve Jones-Wright, Stephan’s campaign paid for a website that accused billionaire philanthropist Soros of supporting Jones-Wright because he 'backs anti-law enforcement candidates over experienced prosecutors, trying to tip the balance to the criminals.' The caption ran directly under a picture of black-clad anti-fascists—one of multiple such pictures that ran alongside photographs of Soros on the site," The Beast reported.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) provided the context for Stephan's attacks.
"Claims that George Soros funds antifa or is otherwise involved in fomenting civil unrest related to Black Lives Matter protests are false and touch on longstanding, sometimes antisemitic conspiracy theories," the ADL explained.
Soros, who is Jewish, survived the Holocaust.
"Unfounded conspiracy theories about roving anti-fascists, especially in suspicious vehicles, were popular with elected officials in 2020, with one such hoax leading to an extensive police manhunt in California that year. Those theories promoted a vision of “antifa” as a well-organized, unified organization with significant funding, instead of what it is: a loosely affiliated political movement with some localized groups. People like Donald Trump, who promoted the myth of a vast anti-fascist conspiracy, sometimes stylize the movement as 'ANTIFA.' Charging documents in the San Diego case do the same," The Beast reported.
Read the full report.
