Moms for Liberty Defends Hitler Quote in Newsletter Before Removing It

Moms for Liberty, a far-right organization that claims to advocate for parental rights in education and was recently labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors extremism, has apologized for prominently using an Adolf Hitler quote in an Indiana chapter’s inaugural newsletter.

Earlier this week, the Hamilton County chapter of the group shared a revised version of its newsletter, “The Parent Brigade,” after previously sharing (and defending) one featuring the Hitler quote, the Associated Press reports.

“We condemn Adolf Hitler’s actions and his dark place in human history,” chapter chair Paige Miller wrote on the cover of the reworked newsletter. “We should not have quoted him in our newsletter and express our deepest apology.”

In the newsletter’s first edition, Hitler was quoted saying, “He who OWNS the youth, GAINS the future.” The quote appears to have originated from one of Hitler’s 1935 rally speeches, but that is uncertain.

After The Indianapolis Starreported on the quote late Wednesday, Moms for Liberty’s local chapter added a “context” section to its newsletter.

“The quote from a horrific leader should put parents on alert,” the revised version stated. “If the government has control over our children today, they control our country’s future. We The People must be vigilant and protect children from an overreaching government.”

Those versions were removed by Thursday morning, and the chapter posted its new newsletter, which replaced Hitler’s quote with an apology.

Moms for Liberty advocates for things critics say come straight from the Nazi playbook. For example, it advocates for removal of certain books about topics its members deem inappropriate for children.

Some interpreted the use of Hitler’s quote in the Moms for Liberty newsletter as an endorsement of the authoritarian mass murderer. In addition to attempting to remove books dealing with race and gender identity from school libraries, Moms for Liberty has faced criticism for its activism against school inclusion.

“It’s disappointing but not surprising that the largest anti-student inclusion movement organization has allegedly used a quote from one of the appalling figureheads in history,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s deputy director for research, reporting, and analysis.

The SPLC labeled Moms for Liberty as an “anti-government extremist” group in its 2022 annual report.

Increasingly recognized as a powerful player in Republican politics, Moms for Liberty has attracted national scrutiny. In Philadelphia next week, four Republican presidential candidates will speak at the group’s annual summit.

Former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and biotech entrepreneur and “anti-woke” activist Vivek Ramaswamy are all scheduled to speak.

As reported by the Associated Press, other candidates are being considered, including Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who promotes anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and who recently said that AIDS was caused by poppers and that children who are transgender girls are the product of exposure to herbicides.