New York, NY, August 20, 2018 ... Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released the following statement today concerning recently departed White House speechwriter Darren Beattie:
We are glad that Darren Beattie, who spoke at a recent conference of the racist, far-right H. L. Mencken Club and participated in a panel discussion with white nationalist Peter Brimelow, creator of the racist website V-Dare, is no longer employed at the White House.
Since it is not abundantly clear, we would like a better explanation from the administration as to the decisions behind his hiring and firing, their knowledge of any of his past dealings with white supremacists or other far-right figures, and whether any other White House staff members have similar connections. There is no place in any presidential administration for someone who would attend and participate in such a well-known racist event as an H. L. Mencken Club conference.
Our researchers have been following this organization since its founding in 2008 by Paul Gottfried, a far-right academic and mentor to notorious white supremacist Richard Spencer. Its chief activity has been the holding of annual conferences typically attended by a mix of paleoconservative writers and white supremacists who view themselves as the intellectual vanguard of the far-right.
Richard Spencer has frequently acted as the master of ceremonies at these events, whose attendees have included a number of prominent racists and controversial figures, including Brimelow, John Derbyshire, Robert Weissberg, F. Roger Devlin, Kevin DeAnna, Charles Murray and many others.