A speechwriter at the Department of Homeland Security has been linked to hateful posts on social media, reportedly claiming that American conservatives are ostracized like the Jews were in Nazi Germany.
A blog post reportedly authored by Eric Lendrum celebrated the January 6 insurrection and compared the following fallout for conservatives to the Holocaust and slavery, Notus reported.
“American conservatives are, right now, on a course for being every bit as ostracized and alienated from broader society as Jews were in the years leading up to Nazi Germany,” he claimed in a 2021 blog post on American Greatness, a rightwing opinion and news site. Lendrum posted on the site until March of this year.
His podcast, The Right Take, is listed in the author’s description on the site. On one episode of the podcast, he said he liked watching videos of scared legislators during the Jan 6 insurrection.
“There’s something so gratifying about seeing the images of these members of Congress — especially the Democrats — crouching under their chairs, putting on those stupid, like, bubble masks, those anti-gas bubble masks, and then taking selfies,” a laughing Lendrum said just days after the Capitol riot.
In another episode, published in October 2022, Lendrum said immigrants put Europe at risk, while also backing the “great replacement theory.” The far-right theory claims that nonwhite immigrants are damaging the influence of white people.
“Given the direction of Europe right now, we could use a far-right government at this point,” said Lendrum.
On X, the account @realEricLendrum has argued for the removal of transgender “ideology” and compared asylum seekers to “scum.”
In another podcast episode, Lendrum referenced his brief period as a press assistant at the Interior Department during the first Trump administration, saying that he would only return to government if he could be closer to the president.
“If I could work more closely with him, that is the one case in which I would ever go back into government work,” said Lendrum, whose online profile was first reported by Notus. “Government work is not fun.”
The Independent has attempted to reach Lendrum for comment.
The DHS Office of Public Affairs states that a speechwriter at the department is responsible for preparing “speeches, talking points, editorials, Congressional testimony, video scripts, web content, and other written content for the Secretary and Deputy Secretary.” The department ranks as the largest federal law enforcement agency.
In one of the blog posts linked to Lendrum, he appeared to argue that conservatives were facing political oppression similar to that of slaves and victims of the Holocaust.
“It has been said that the most surefire way to create an authoritarian regime is to completely dehumanize a significant portion of the population, so that their subsequent enslavement by the state will not face any larger resistance. It was true during slavery, it was true during the Holocaust, and it is true now,” the blog post stated.
Responding to questions from The Independent, DHS shared a link to the text of the First Amendment.
The X account linked to Lendrum argued that the U.S. should treat immigrants as an “invading army.”
“They are not migrants. They are not ‘undocumented.’ They are an invading army. The largest invasion in American history,” one post stated in May 2023. “And what are you supposed to do with an invading army? Crush it, by any means necessary. That’s the #AmericaFirst way.”
Also in the blog post about January 6, the author said, “The Democrats were absolutely terrified — literally cowering under their seats, horrified at the prospect of mere peasants walking through the halls of their castle.”
The lawmakers, including Republicans, were escorted by Capitol Police through the Capitol complex.
“The truth is that they are grateful the events of that day unfolded as they did,” the post argued regarding the Democrats.
In a podcast episode published in April 2023, he said he would “always properly deadname t***** freaks.”
“I will keep calling them t******* because I know it’s derogatory, and I know they freakin’ hate it. That’s why I deadname them. That’s why I use their original pronouns,” he said. “You control the language. Don’t give these freaks an inch on the language.”
“We need to eradicate transgenderism. Wipe it off the face of the Earth. Destroy it. Get rid of it,” he added. “As a disclaimer, I’m not saying to wipe the people out. I’m not saying get rid of the people. I’m saying eliminate the ideology. Cure these people.”
