Utah Tech Head Quits Following Viral Email Claiming Jews Caused Covid ‘To Euthanize the American People’
Image via Entrata Facebook page.
Dave Bateman, the chairman and one of the founders of Utah-based tech firm Entrata, has resigned from his position at the request of the company’s board of directors after an email he wrote blaming the Jews for the Covid-19 pandemic went viral.
As first reported by Fox 13 Salt Lake City, Bateman sent the email with the subject line was “Genocide” to a list of Utah political and business leaders, including Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) and Utah Jazz owner and Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith.
In the text of the email, Bateman described his belief that there was “a sadistic effort underway to euthanize the American people,” urged people not to get the Covid-19 vaccine, attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, and claimed the Jews were behind the pandemic:
“I believe the Jews are behind this. For 300 years the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top. It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis. I believe the pandemic and systematic extermination of billions of people will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule. I know, it sounds bonkers. No one is reporting on it, but the Hasidic Jews in the US instituted a law for their people that they are not to be vaccinated for any reason,” he wrote in the email.
“I pray that I’m wrong on this. Utah has got to stop the vaccination drive. Warn your employees. Warn your friends. Prepare. Stay safe.”
Reached for comment by Fox 13, Bateman confirmed in text messages that he wrote the email and again blamed the Jews for being behind the pandemic:
“Yes. I sent it. I have nothing but love for the Jewish people. Some of my closest friends are Jews. My heart breaks for their 2500 years they’ve been mistreated by nearly every country on earth. But I do believe Scottish Rite Freemasons are behind the pandemic (overwhelmingly Jewish),” he wrote. “And I fear billions of people around the globe right now are being exterminated.”
Cox condemned Bateman’s email in a tweet from his official account, writing “These irresponsible comments are hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them.” On the Utah governor’s personal account, he was a bit more colorful, using emojis to describe the email as “batsh*t crazy stuff,” noting that it had gone to the public email address for his previous office and he “normally wouldn’t dignify it with a response” but it was “getting lots [of] attention” and he hopes Bateman “gets some help.”
Sheesh. Apparently this went to my public email address under Lt. Gov Cox. This is 🦇💩 crazy stuff. I get insane emails like this from people often and normally wouldn’t dignify it with a response, but I guess it’s getting lots attention. I hope he gets some help. https://t.co/42kOgT9fFw
— Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) January 5, 2022
Entrata CEO Adam Edmunds condemned Bateman’s email, sending reporters a statement that the company posted on their Facebook page, calling Bateman’s “highly offensive” email his opinions alone, which “do not reflect the views or values of Entrata, the executive team, board of directors, or investors.”
“To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms,” Edmunds continued. “Entrata’s board of directors today asked Dave Bateman to resign from the company’s board of directors, including his position as chairman. Dave agreed and is no longer a member of the Entrata board, effective immediately.”
