Calif. statehouse candidate who was at Jan. 6 spread antisemitic conspiracy theory

A candidate for state assembly in California, who USA TODAY identified as entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, also spread bizarre anti-semitic conspiracy theories, new research reveals. Meanwhile, an exposé of extremism in the U.S. military and a boat carrying Nazi flags attends a Trump flotilla in Florida, and is not welcomed.

It’s the week in extremism.

CA state assembly candidate spread bizarre antisemitic conspiracies

In March, USA TODAY published an investigation into California State Assembly candidate Denise Aguilar Mendez, detailing how online researchers identified her in a video entering the Capitol on Jan. 6. Mendez, who has not been charged for her actions at the Capitol, also spread a bizarre anti semitic conspiracy theory, according to new research from the left-leaning media watchdog Media Matters for America.

And on Friday the Sacramento Bee broke the story that Aguilar also pleaded guilty to welfare fraud in 2020, for which she spent 20 days in jail.

• According to Media Matters, Aguilar shared a video in 2019 outlining “a bizarre and antisemitic conspiracy theory essentially claiming that the power grid was turned off in parts of California in 2019 not to prevent fires but to stop the Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish family, from trafficking children.”

• Aguilar is the Republican Party candidate for California Assembly District 13, a seat that includes the cities of Stockton, Tracy and much of San Joaquin County. On March 5, she finished second in the district’s open primary, gaining 37.9% of the vote, and will go on to face a Democratic rival next month.

• The Rothschilds are “ in charge of our money,” Aguilar says in the video. “The Federal Reserve is not a government entity. It's actually a private company owned by these families that control our money. So that's another rabbit hole to go into.”

• Aguilar co-founded a group called Freedom Angels, which describes itself as “Political strategy & grassroots organizing to protect children,” and which helped organize a May 2020 anti-lockdown protest in Sacramento that attracted an estimated 1,000 people.

• Friday's Sacramento Bee story outlined Aguilar's 2020 plea deal with prosecutors from  the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office: "She received a 40-day jail sentence (later reduced to 20 days), three years of probation, 120 hours of community service and was ordered to repay the $10,984. She served the jail sentence in February 2023," the Bee reported.

• Aguilar did not respond to a call for comment.

Report: US military members increasingly turning to extremism

Members of the U.S. military, some trained in explosives and battlefield tactics, are increasingly turning to extremist ideologies after their time serving the country, according to new reporting from the Associated Press.

• The AP report details the story of Chris Arthur, a former Army cavalry scout who served two tours in Iraq before leaving the National Guard and becoming radicalized in the world of far-right extremism. In May, Arthur was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him on weapons and bomb-making charges.

• The AP conducted an analysis of domestic terrorism data, which found that “While the pace at which the overall population has been radicalizing increased in recent years, people with military backgrounds have been radicalizing at a faster rate. Their extremist plots were also more likely to involve weapons training or firearms than plots that didn’t include someone with a military background.”

• As USA TODAY reported last year, the U.S. military’s efforts to combat extremism in the ranks have largely fallen by the wayside. An effort launched in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection led to dozens of recommendations for the armed forces, most of which have not been implemented more than three years later.

Swastika flags at Florida Trump rally

On Sunday, a floating Trump rally in Jupiter, FL, was joined  by a boat flying Trump flags and swastika flags.

• An organizer of the rally called the neo-Nazis on board "scum" in a video posted to Facebook, which showed the boaters getting water splashed on them by another parade vessel.

• The men on board the swastika-carrying boat shouted “Hail Trump,” and “Make America white again,” among other slogans.

• The men on board were identified as members of the hate groups Order of the Black Sun and Goyim Defense League. Both groups regularly hold attention-grabbing stunts, often including swastika flags.

Statistic of the week: One out of 26

A new analysis by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found 26 instances of content being live streamed on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and X that violated a platform’s content guidelines.

Live-streams viewed by the researchers included antisemitic content, election denialism and calls for violence against politicians.

Only one of the pieces of content was removed, according to the ISD.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California candidate spread antisemitic conspiracy theory