Legislator to Speak Before Group Criticized as Racist

Only six months after taking heat from fellow legislators for a similar appearance, state Sen. Don Rogers (R-Tehachapi) is slated to speak before a group that the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith contends has ties to anti-Semitic and racist agitators.

The group, a Tarzana-based organization called the Granada Forum, is an offshoot of the so-called “patriot movement,” aimed at persuading Americans to fear and distrust government.

At its January meeting, the group heard a talk titled “Federal Reserve Conspiracy” by ultraconservative lecturer Eustace Mullins, identified by the Anti-Defamation League as the author of anti-Jewish propaganda.

Saturday, Rogers is scheduled to speak to the group at a North Hollywood hotel gathering, according to a Granada Forum telephone recording and flyer.

The senator is scheduled to speak on his support for the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which forbids the federal government to force states to comply with unreasonable mandates. A separate speaker will speak against federal gun control.

Rogers, who represents a vast district stretching from the Tehachapi Mountains to the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, was out of the state Thursday and unavailable for comment, a spokeswoman in his office said.

The Granada Forum sponsors weekly talks on current affairs, such as the legal status of Proposition 187, often accompanied by dire warnings that the government is chipping away at individual rights.

Recent discussions centered on how “genocide” may result from overzealous federal gun control laws, and complaints that the state and federal government can seize personal property without due process. Members of the group who were called for comment could not be reached.

Last summer, when faced with criticism for his appearance in Bakersfield before a group that reportedly draws its supporters from the white supremacist movement, Rogers said he did not share in any racist beliefs. He said he viewed those attending the so-called Jubilation Celebration and Conference as “patriotic Americans . . . working to preserve and restore individual rights and freedoms.”

But lawmakers in the Legislature’s black and Latino caucuses scolded Rogers for agreeing to address the Bakersfield gathering, at which material considered to be anti-Semitic and racist was displayed.

On Thursday, David A. Lehrer, the Anti-Defamation League’s regional director, said he wrote Rogers a letter Feb. 3 asking him to reconsider his scheduled Granada Forum appearance, but has not yet received a reply.

“We find it abhorrent that an elected official would allow himself to be used by a group that clearly has racist and anti-Semitic connections,” Lehrer said. “The prestige of his office inevitably is lent to this collection of extremists.”

In his 17 years in the Legislature, Rogers, 66, has earned a reputation as one of the Capitol’s staunchest conservatives. His unbending commitment against government intervention has earned him respect from some of his colleagues.

But Rogers’ choice of venues for some of his talks has raised questions among some of his Antelope Valley constituents.

Rabbi Alan Henkin of the Temple Beth Knesset Bamidbar, the only Jewish congregation in the Antelope Valley, said he fears that the region will suffer if Rogers loses clout and credibility in Sacramento as a result of his appearances.

“This is just another in a pattern of the senator’s association with groups on the fringe that flirt with anti-Semitism,” Henkin said. “We’re very disappointed with him.”