A local Indiana chapter of Moms for Liberty, a national conservative parents organization, apologized on Thursday for quoting Adolf Hitler in a newsletter.
The Hamilton County chapter of Moms for Liberty quoted Hitler’s remarks at a 1935 rally on the front page of its new newsletter on Wednesday. The quote, placed directly below the masthead, read: “He alone, who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future.”
After the Indianapolis Star first reported this story on Wednesday, the local chapter of Moms for Liberty added additional “context” to the original newsletter, saying the quote from this “horrific leader should put parents on alert.”
“If the government has control over our children today, they control our country’s future,” the note read.
A day later, Paige Miller, the chapter’s leader, apologized for quoting the Nazi leader in a statement posted to the Moms for Liberty Facebook group.
“We condemn Adolf Hitler’s actions and his dark place in human history,” Miller wrote. “We should not have quoted him in our newsletter and express our deepest apology.”
The four administrators of the chapter’s Facebook group did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
A bipartisan chorus of local politicians condemned the group’s quoting of Hitler, who led the systematic genocide of at least 6 million Jewish people, along with other groups.
Matt McNally, a Democrat running for Indiana’s 39th Congressional District, said the group’s move makes clear that Moms for Liberty has “no business” in politics.
“No group that quotes Nazis should be anywhere near our children or have any influence in our community,” McNally tweeted. “It is time for our community leaders to stop acquiescing to them and make clear that their hateful rhetoric will not be tolerated.”
Mario Massillamany, the chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party, also condemned the inclusion of the quote in an interview with the Indianapolis Star and described the Holocaust as a “terrible page” in history.
“I don’t think that we as a society can say enough about the atrocities that the poor Jewish people had to go through,” Massillamany said.
After forming a little more than two years ago, Moms for Liberty has grown to include 285 chapters in 44 states, according to the organization, and it has targeted core cultural issues to fuel its rise — including opposing mask mandates in schools, banning library books that mention sexual orientation and gender identity, and curtailing classroom lessons on racial inequity and discrimination.
Source – NBC News
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