Naharnet

Reports: Holocaust Denier Set to Become Republican Candidate

A Holocaust-denying white supremacist is set to become the Republican nominee for a congressional seat in the U.S. state of Illinois, according to local media.

Art Jones, whose website for his election campaign includes a section called "The Holocaust Racket" and proposals to bring back racially segregated neighborhoods, is poised to run unopposed for the March 20 Republican primary in the heavily Democratic district that encompasses parts of Chicago and its suburbs.

He would then face a Democrat in the congressional election in November.

The 70-year-old retired insurance agent expressed support for Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election, according to local news site patch.com, but admitted he had reservations over the billionaire's Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as his daughter Ivanka's conversion to the faith.

Jones has unsuccessfully run for elected office in the Chicago area and Milwaukee since the 1970s, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

His most recent attempt was in 2016 when he was removed from the ballot after the voter signatures on his nomination papers were found to be invalid.

But this time, Jones "took his petitions door to door himself and took greater care to have valid signatures," the paper said.

"Given the fact that I've got no opposition in the primary, OK, I win that one (the primary) by default all right," he told the Sun-Times.

Jones added he is a former leader of the American Nazi Party and now heads a group called the America First Committee -- whose membership is open only to white people of non-Jewish descent.

He describes the United States' foreign conflicts as "Jew Wars" on his website and is also opposed to gays and bisexuals, whom he says are seeking "to uproot, and overthrow all the moral teachings of the Christian religion."

His candidacy was condemned by the Illinois Republican party, but it was unclear if they could remove him from the ballot. 

Chairman Tim Schneider told the Chicago Tribune: "The Illinois Republican Party and our country have no place for Nazis like Arthur Jones. 

"We strongly oppose his racist views and his candidacy for any public office, including the 3rd Congressional District."

The U.S. far-right has seen something of a resurgence since President Donald Trump assumed office last year on a nativist "America First" platform.

Trump came under fire last August for failing to forcefully condemn a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which resulted in clashes and the death of a counter-protester.

He has gone on to make several racially charged pronouncements, including describing mainly African-American NFL players who protest police brutality as "sons of bitches" and reportedly describing African nations as "shithole" countries.

Source: Agence France Presse


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