LOS ANGELES (JTA) – A Southern California city worker was forced to resign after his superiors learned of his website espousing white supremacist, anti-Semitic and 9/11 Israel conspiracy views.
John Friend, 29, was hired three months ago by the Escondido city manager’s office for administrative work that included supervision of the support staff. Escondido is a small city north of San Diego.
Friend, who said he was given the option to step down or be fired, resigned on Sept. 9.
On his website, the Realist Report, Friend has lauded Adolf Hitler, blamed Israel for the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center in New York and denied the Holocaust, saying it was made up by the “Jewish-dominated media.”
A prolific blogger and contributor to several white supremacist publications, Friend told a San Diego reporter that he finds “inspiration and guidance from … white Christian patriots” such as Hitler and his propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels.
City Manager Clay Phillips told the San Diego Union-Tribune that he was unaware of Friend’s virulent anti-Semitism until a reporter asked him about the new hire’s background.
In an email, Friend said he didn’t list any of his writings or website work on his resume or in his job interview, but neither did he try to conceal his views.
