Holocaust denier attends fundraiser for Republican congressman

Two Republican congressmen who have been criticized for associating with a Holocaust denier have attended a fundraiser with the far-right activist.

Charles C. Johnson attended the yacht fundraiser in Newport Beach, California for Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida on July 20, according to a report Thursday by the Mother Jones magazine. Both Gaetz and Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California were at the event.

In October 2017, news reports revealed that Rohrabacher had welcomed Johnson to a Capitol Hill meeting with Sen. Rand Paul. In response, the Anti-Defamation League urged Rohrabacher to “discontinue any association with Johnson and repudiate his views.”

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Gaetz had also invited Johnson to US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech in January.

Rep. Matthew Gaetz (R-FL) talks to reporters (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/JTA)

Gaetz was criticized for this in light of Johnson’s assertions on Twitter in 2017, when he wrote about Holocaust victims: “I do not and never have believed the six million figure. I think the Red Cross numbers of 250,000 dead in the camps from typhus are more realistic. I think the Allied bombing of Germany was a ware [sic] crime. I agree… about Auschwitz and the gas chambers not being real.”

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., speaks to reporters as he emerges from a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 7, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Referring to Johnson’s presence at the July 20 event, Jason Pitkin, Rohrabacher’s campaign finance director told Mother Jones: “I don’t remember who invited him there.”

Asked whether Johnson had come at the invitation of Gaetz, Kip Talley, the chief of staff for Gaetz’s reelection campaign, replied in an email, “It was a private event and you’re welcome to check the FEC reports to see who donated. Thanks for reaching out.”