A California store owner, Laura Ann Carleton, was tragically killed on Friday for displaying a LGBTQ pride flag outside of her shop in Cedar Glen. The gunman, Travis Ikeguchi, who was killed by police, had spewed homophobic, racist, and antisemitic ideologies on his X, formerly known as Twitter, and Gab accounts. Ikeguchi also posted pictures of burning pride flags and hateful comments about Jews while repeatedly resharing posts with antisemitic conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric against the LGBTQ community.

 

Users online remembered Carleton, a staunch ally of the LGBTQ community and mother of nine children. Many people online discussed how different types of hate are interconnected and highlighted Ikeguchi’s past social media posts. 

 

This horrific act of anti-LGBTQ hate is a sad reminder of how important it is for communities to stand together in solidarity against intolerance of all kinds. History has shown that hate against one group is often closely linked to hate against a multitude of groups. 

 

Last week marked the 108th anniversary of the lynching of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager in Atlanta who was wrongly convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl.

 

Despite the lack of concrete evidence against Frank, many people didn’t believe his innocence simply because he was Jewish and hurled antisemitic insults and threats at Frank throughout his trial. Amid this antisemitic environment, Frank was found guilty and sentenced to death. Georgia Gov. John M. Slaton later commuted Frank’s sentence from death to life in prison, but Frank was abducted from jail and lynched two months later.

 

This anniversary has been unfortunately marked with rampant antisemitism on social media over the past week, including from X, which briefly displayed a false, antisemitic community note about Leo Frank. Many people have taken this opportunity to spread the same lies that got Frank convicted in the first place.

Elon Musk recently leaked that users on X will no longer be able to block other accounts. The comment was met with outrage from users on X as removing the block feature would be in violation of the policies of both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. 

 

One fear is that this change will increase Holocaust denial on the platform. The Auschwitz Memorial and Museum voiced their disappointment in X’s decision, saying their account actively blocks users who promote Holocaust denial and hatred to ensure a safe and secure space to remember the victims of the Holocaust. 

The museum has also voiced concerns over X’s moderation of content after multiple accounts they reported for Holocaust denial was deemed to not violate X’s safety policies.

 

Users this week are remembering Sophie Scholl, who was executed at the age of 21 by the Gestapo in 1943 for her participation in White Rose, a student resistance group. Scholl, her brother Hans, and classmate Christoph Probst distributed flyers to other University of Munich students, encouraging a rebellion against Adolf Hitler’s rule through sabotage of military equipment. The White Rose was one of few German groups who stood up to the Nazi regime during the war.

 

 

Jewish Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Natan Levy was challenged by an antisemitic online troll, who is a supporter of Nick Fuentes, to a fight this week. Levy quickly defeated the troll and at the end of the fight, the antisemitic troll can be heard apologizing to Levy saying that “six million Jews were killed in the Holocaust,” and admitting he “needs to be more well-researched.” The story quickly gained the attention of people on social media with many people praising Levy and sharing the video he posted on YouTube. 

 

 

August 28 marks the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led over a quarter million people in Washington D.C. to advocate for civil rights for African-Americans. During this march, Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. 

This weekend, FCAS partners including the ADL, the NAACP, UnidosUS, and the National Urban League, will co-chair along with other organizations a celebration of the march. Stay tuned for From the Command Center’s coverage next week.

 

 

 

 

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