Trial for O.C. Revisionists Is Postponed
A civil trial pitting warring factions of a Costa Mesa historical revisionist organization has been postponed, attorneys and courtroom officials confirmed Tuesday.
Jury selection in the case involving defendant Willis Carto, 69, and the organization he founded, the Institute for Historical Review, won’t begin until Thursday, with opening arguments expected to begin next week, attorneys said. The group was founded partly to deny historical data pertaining to the Holocaust.
The trial will take place in Superior Court here, in northern San Diego County. Carto’s former colleagues are suing him for embezzlement, claiming $7.5 million willed to the organization is its money, not his.
Carto, who continues to be involved with the far-right Liberty Lobby and its newspaper, the Spotlight, now lives in Escondido.
The case is being watched closely by the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish organizations, who accuse both Carto and the institute of being anti-Semitic for their assertion that claims of the Holocaust have been exaggerated.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
