For years, the extremists were supposed to be somewhere else: anonymous accounts, fringe forums, men marching with torches in someone else’s city. This week showed how far inside they’ve come, and how little resistance they’re meeting at the door.
The mechanism is accommodation. Extremism enters the mainstream when people with power decide confronting it costs more than absorbing it. A deflection here, a nod there, a seat at the table extended in the name of open conversation. Each accommodation tells the next extremist the water is warm.
That’s why the Watchdog exists: to track both levels at once, the normalization happening on stages and in campaign statements, and the threats and assaults happening on the ground. They are not separate stories. One lowers the cost of the other.
CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck reported that David Alan Scheer II, son-in-law of Georgia Senate nominee Rep. Mike Collins, is a white nationalist influencer with roughly 1.5 million followers. Scheer has promoted the hate group Patriot Front, shared Nazi imagery and antisemitic conspiracy theories, and wrote that “There’s nothing wrong with White Nationalism.” He appears in Collins’ campaign photos and is registered to vote at a Collins-owned property.
Asked about all of it, the campaign answered that Collins’ “lifelong support for Israel is unquestionable.” It never mentioned Jewish Americans.
Using a pro-Israel record as a shield against documented white nationalist ties shows the danger of treating “support for Israel” as identical to “concern for Jews.”
On Joe Rogan’s podcast this week, Rogan said, “Most people think Epstein was Mossad.” Vice President J.D. Vance replied: “Ya.”
The theory rests heavily on a source identified as a Holocaust denier and has been pushed by neo-Nazis and Iranian state media. Within hours, conspiracy accounts were circulating the clip as proof that the White House validates their claims.
The pattern is documented. Vance has invoked the Soros puppet-master trope, defended the AfD after visiting Dachau, waved off “I love Hitler” texts as “boys will be boys,” and called ICE criticism “blood libel.” Our breakdown of the Epstein files separates what’s documented from where the antisemitism enters.
Hunter Biden sat for a conversation with Nick Fuentes, brokered by Channel 5’s Andrew Callaghan, that reportedly grew so heated it nearly turned physical. It airs later this month.
Fuentes is a Holocaust denier who led “Jews will not replace us” chants and told Piers Morgan he’s tired of pretending Hitler wasn’t cool. There is no revelation waiting inside a sit-down with him. Every “just asking questions” conversation launders his positions to audiences who would never seek them out, and the fact that this one comes from the political left makes the laundering more effective, not less. Normalization has no party.
Atlanta, GA: A Texas man was federally charged after leaving a voicemail threatening to find and kill Jewish employees of Flock Safety, the Atlanta-based camera company. He is the fourth person charged with antisemitic threats by the Northern District of Georgia since 2025. (CBS News Atlanta)
Harrisburg, PA: A 65-year-old man was arrested after directing antisemitic slurs at Governor Josh Shapiro and threatening to burn down the governor’s mansion, a year after Shapiro’s family survived an arson attack there during Passover. He faces charges of terrorist threats and ethnic intimidation. (The Jerusalem Post)
Natick, MA: Police are investigating two hate incidents in a single weekend: a property broken into and defaced with racist and antisemitic graffiti, and slurs discovered at a community center near Temple Israel. It follows a swastika found at a Natick elementary school in May. (MetroWest Daily News)
In Canada, where attacks came back-to-back:
Toronto: A man declaring himself a “Houthi from Yemen” attacked Joseph Bitton, a visibly Jewish man, with rocks, metal bars, and a tree branch while threatening to kill him “because Israel is killing babies.” Police charged a suspect and deemed it a hate crime. (The Jerusalem Post)
Montreal: Days later, a man tore shtreimels from the heads of Hasidic men leaving synagogue on Shabbat and fled with the stolen hats. This week, Montreal police arrested two 20-year-old suspects. (The Jerusalem Post, CBC)
This is what we do: track real antisemitism, call out when it’s weaponized, and make clear the difference. If you’d like to support this work, you can donate here. We’d love to connect.
We’ll continue offering clear responses, frameworks, and resources as these stories develop.
