White House Urged to Suspend, Investigate Sebastian Gorka
New York City— In response to news reports today indicating that senior White House counterterrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka is a member of the Hungarian far-right antisemitic group “Historical Vitézi Rend,” Human Rights First’s Rob Berschinski issued the following statement:
“Antisemitism has no place in America, and certainly no place in the White House. And yet this White House continues, time and again, to take steps that fundamentally call this principle into question. Sebastian Gorka should be placed on immediate suspension while the White House investigates the allegations raised today.
“If the allegations prove accurate, Gorka needs to be removed from his position. A man who has sworn an oath to a group glorifying Nazi-era antisemitism has no business serving alongside those who have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
The Forward reported today that leaders of the “Historical Vitézi Rend” claim Gorka is an official member of the organization, which is a reconstitution of the World War II era Vitézi Rend group. The State Department lists Vitézi Rend as having been “under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany during World War II,” and classifies members of this group as inadmissible to the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The original Vitézi Rend organization, of which the Historical Vitézi Rend organization claims to be an heir, was established as a nationalist group by Hitler collaborator Admiral Miklos Horthy. The Historical Vitézi Rend group ascribes to nationalist, racist, and antisemitic ideologies similar to those of the original organization.
Human Rights First continues to urge President Trump to make clear that he condemns all forms of antisemitism and intolerance, including by supporting a thorough investigation into allegations regarding Sebastian Gorka.
For more information or to speak with Berschinski contact Christopher Plummer at [email protected] or 202-370-3310.