- Right-wing activist
Darren Beattie was told to resign from a US commission. - Insider had found he was continuing to serve on the panel, while pushing Jan. 6 conspiracy theories.
The Biden administration has forced the resignation of right-wing activist and conspiracy theorist Darren Beattie from the commission that oversees US Holocaust memorials abroad.
Gautam Raghavan, deputy director of the White House Office of presidential personnel, had told Beattie in a letter that he must resign from his role on the US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad by the end of business Friday or be fired, The Washington Post reported.
"Better than a Pulitzer," wrote Beattie in a tweet, with a picture of the letter requesting his resignation.
—Darren J. Beattie (@DarrenJBeattie) January 14, 2022
Insider has contacted the White House for comment.
The move comes after Insider had found earlier in the week that Beattie was continuing to serve on the panel, more than a year after his appointment by then-president
In a statement to Insider, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) had said on Tuesday that Beattie should have "no place on a commission that plays a special role preserving Jewish heritage sites from before the Holocaust." The ADL highlighted his promotion of "deeply harmful" falsehoods about the Jan 6 riot and attendance of a conference alongside white nationalists.
Beattie's attendance at the 2016 HL Mencken Club conference alongside white nationalist Peter Brimelow had prompted his firing as a speechwriter by the Trump administration in 2018 before Trump had appointed him to the commission.
More recently, Beattie has played an increasingly prominent role in pushing the baseless conspiracy theory that the Jan 6 riot was instigated by FBI agents and frequently discussed the claim on Fox News host Tucker Carlson's show. Trump praised him for promoting the claim in a recent statement, writing, "Congratulations to Darren Beattie and Revolver News, who have exposed so much of the Fake News' false narrative about January 6th."
The conspiracy theory is gaining currency among allies of Trump, and the House committee investigating the Jan 6 riot released a statement this week rejecting it and refuting the claim that protester Ray Epps was working with the FBI.
Beattie's term on the commission had been set to end in February, but members can continue to serve beyond their term if they wish. The Post reported that six other members of the panel appointed by Trump were also asked to resign Friday.