Perennial Green candidate Croteau posts Holocaust denial, anti-Semitic meme

David Croteau, a frequent Green Party candidate for various local offices, posted a virulent anti-Semitic meme on Facebook on Monday — a post that accused the Jews of "mass murder" and "control of the media" and financial institutions. He followed it by sharing a post denying that the Holocaust took place.

The meme posted by the Tucsonan included the usual anti-Jewish statements familiar from too many hate screeds: that the Jews instigate wars and create chaos, have murdered millions and cover up their crimes by controlling the media.

Responding to comments on the post, which attracted attention, Croteau — who frequently shares conspiratorial claims that "the Zionist State" was behind the World Trade Center attacks in 2001 — again claimed that Israel attacked the United States on 9/11.

Croteau, widely known as "Green Party Dave," also shared Monday a lengthy post (later deleted or hidden — see a screenshot of just a portion of the post at left), penned by conspiracist Chuck Maultsby, that attempts to deny the Holocaust — the systematic murder of millions of Jews by the Nazi regime during World War II — took place at all. Maultsby's more well-known as the leader of longtime local band Chuck Wagon and the Wheels, but has for years been maintaining a website full of neo-Nazi propaganda and 9/11 "Truther" materials.

That post, which didn't attract the social media attention that the meme shared by Croteau did, began: "Is the Holocaust a Hoax? Short Answer: OF COURSE. Within five minutes, any intelligent, open-minded person can be convinced that the Holocaust gassings of World War II are a profitable hoax."

"Even The Diary of Anne Frank is a hoax," that post claimed, echoing familiar themes from Holocaust deniers.

Croteau, who has at least twice failed to even gather the handful of signatures a Green candidate needs to make the ballot (seeking to run for City Council in 2009 and Pima County sheriff in 2016), has run for sheriff (2000 and 2012) and mayor of Tucson (2007 and 2011, losing in the primary in the latter).

Local Greens said the party "rejects and condemns racism and anti-Semitism ... In fact, Mr Croteau was impeached from the Green Party of Pima County over two years ago for publishing anti-Semitic views."

Croteau ran for sheriff in 2000 on a platform of legalization and taxation of marijuana, getting 16 percent of the vote in a race without a Republican candidate challenging incumbent Democrat Clarence Dupnik (more than 46,000 votes for the Green). He ran for mayor in 2007, when he got 28 percent of the vote in a race that saw GOP Mayor Bob Walkup without a Democratic opponent (15,600 votes for Croteau). In the 2012 sheriff's contest, he got about three percent of the vote as Republican Mark Napier failed to unseat Dupnik (12,300 votes).

Disavowing any connection to the former party candidate, Pima Greens spokesman Eduardo Quintana said they "will continue to be in the front lines defending people who are victimized by racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, anti-gay, or anti-Muslim bias." Two Greens are running in the Ward 6 City Council primary: Michael Cease and Michael Oatman.

His meme post, Monday morning, included the following words on top of a photograph of a young woman:

Have you ever studied the history of the Jews?

Did you know that they have always banded together as a tribe, infiltrated governments, monopolized the financial systems of nations, instigated wars and intentionally created chaos in societies?

The Jews have mass murdered millions of non-Jews over the centuries but they've seized control of the media so you'll never find out.

Study the history of the Jews!

Croteau, a house painter, was one of the organizers of Occupy Tucson in 2012. Despite his left-wing Green Party and Veterans for Peace involvement, he has also aligned himself with the right-wing "Oathkeepers" group. He has often posted links for contrived so-called "Truther" claims about Israeli involvement in the World Trade Center attacks — including in comments on the post of the meme Monday.

Croteau has been previously warned by some Facebook users (including by me) to not post 9/11 conspiracy links on their personal pages. Although many of Croteau's "Truther" posts over the last several years have had overt anti-Israel and implicit anti-Semitic messages, his move into outright denial that the Nazi regime committed mass-murder of European Jews is recent.