Corporate-backed Congressman pushes anti-Semitic attack against journalist

On Sunday, first-term Congressman Mike Collins (R-GA) participated in a vehemently anti-Semitic attack against a Washington Post journalist on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. After receiving a flood of criticism, Collins responded by pretending he said nothing objectionable. Meanwhile, numerous major corporations continue to financially support Collins' reelection bid. 

The spark for the incident was a story by Washington Post feature writer Maura Judkis about the closure of a CVS in Washington, DC. It was a nuanced piece acknowledging that increased shoplifting may have influenced the decision to shut down the store. (Even though a CVS spokesperson did not cite it as a factor.) At the same time, Judkis noted that the current "moral panic" about shoplifting is not always supported by data. To set the scene, Judkis described the United States as "a sticky-fingered nation built on stolen land." 

This prompted the publication of an article by Fox News, republished in the New York Post with a misleading headline, "Washington Post reporter says shoplifting not a big deal because US built on ‘stolen land.’" This is not something that Judkis says in the piece. But it was quickly seized on by a racist meme account on X, @GarbageHuman23. "In case you were wondering, yes she is," @GarbageHuman23 commented. "Never was a second thought," Collins responded.

@GarbageHuman23 frequently posts anti-Semitic memes and other content attacking Jewish people. The account promotes the notion that Jews are part of a massive conspiracy to manipulate white people and enrich themselves. It also frequently posts bigoted memes about Black people, LGBTQ people, and others. Here are a few examples of posts targeting Jews:

In case there was any doubt, @GarbageHuman23 confirmed that he was attacking Judkis for being Jewish. "Take note," @GarbageHuman23 wrote in response to a thread of posts criticizing his attack on Judkis and Collins' response. "It’s antisemitic to point out somebody is Jewish when they actually are indeed Jewish."

In response to the controversy, Collins posted a meme accusing his critics of "grasping at straws."

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for Collins sent Popular Information the same meme. "I think it's obvious that the congressman believes only a garbage human would excuse crime because they believe the U.S. is on 'stolen land,'" the spokesperson added. (Collins later publicly posted a similar explanation.) A follow-up inquiry, noting that @GarbageHuman23 has made their intentions clear, was not returned. 

Georgia State Senator Josh McLaurin (D) said that Collins’ post was "an obvious antisemitic reference" to "appeal to the far right." Now, McLaurin said, Collins is "gaslighting" his critics. McLaurin also condemned Collins' conduct on the floor of the Georgia Senate, reportedly eliciting applause.  

Collins’ corporate backers

Collins is reinforcing the anti-Semitic attacks of pseudo-anonymous racists, while he enjoys the financial support of major corporations. Since 2023, Collins' reelection campaign has received contributions from the corporate PACs of American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Delta, Boeing, Home Depot, UPS, Verizon, and others. 

Several of these companies have been outspoken opponents of anti-Semitism. In September 2023, for example, UPS condemned the "increase of antisemitism across the United States" and committed to "to using our strength and purpose to help dismantle discrimination wherever it exists through our advocacy efforts and partnerships." According to UPS, "[s]ilence and inaction are not options." The company did not respond to a request for comment. 

McGuireWoods, a major law firm that donated to Collins through its PAC, signed a statement this fall "condemning anti-Semitism on university campuses." Kevin Frankle, a partner at the firm, said he was proud the firm was participating "[w]hether popular or not" because it is "the just and moral stance to take." The firm did not respond to a request for comment about its financial support for Collins.

Home Depot told Popular Information that the company has "a long history of promoting and valuing diversity" and "supports candidates on both sides of the aisle who champion pro-business, pro-retail positions." Home Depot did not say whether it intended to continue to support Collins in light of his participation in the anti-Semitic attack against Judkis. 

Collins' other corporate donors did not respond to a request for comment. 

Collins’ history of promoting extremist content

Earlier this month, on X, Collins proposed throwing out migrants from helicopters to address the border crisis. The Georgia congressman shared a post by Representative Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) that featured a picture of a migrant flipping off the camera after he was released from a New York City Criminal Court. D’Esposito wrote: “We feel the same way about you. Holla at the cartels and have them escort you back.” “Or we could buy him a ticket on Pinochet Air for a free helicopter ride back,” Collins replied, referring to the practice of “death flights” during Chile’s military dictatorship when officers would throw out political dissidents from planes and dump them into oceans and rivers. 

According to Christopher Mathias, a reporter who covers far-right extremists, Collins was “parroting a meme that’s been popular among white supremacists & neofascists like the Proud Boys for the last 7 or so years.” Collins’ post was removed for violating X’s rules on “violent speech,” and the Congressman was locked out of his account. The post was eventually restored for “public interest,” but contains a disclaimer that it “violated the X Rules.” Collins celebrated his return by posting, “I’m back 😎 Never delete. Never surrender.”

Before this incident, Collins was among those who blamed DEI after a door panel flew off an Alaska Airlines flight. As Popular Information previously reported, experts have never linked air safety problems to DEI. In 2023, Collins also blamed DEI after a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio. In 2022, Collins also attended the New York Young Republican Club's annual gala alongside white nationalists Peter Brimelow and Lydia Brimelow.