- A Capitol police officer apparently had a copy of the protocols of Zion’s elders at a checkpoint.
- A concerned assistant congressman took a photo and the officer is being investigated.
- The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a centuries-old anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
A Capitol police officer was suspended Monday after Capitol Hill staff photographed a printed copy of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion at a security checkpoint in Congress, according to The Washington Post.
A congressman spotted the infamous anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on the desk near a checkpoint, took down the document and shared it with The Post. The checkpoint was near a 24-hour entrance to the Longworth House office building.
Acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told The Post that the officer in question had been suspended pending an investigation.
“We take all allegations of misconduct seriously,” Pittman said. “After bringing this matter to my attention, I immediately ordered that the officer be suspended until the Office of Professional Responsibility can thoroughly investigate.”
The House staff member who shared the photo asked Anonymous’s post for fear of retaliation, saying they were “extremely rattled” when they discovered the document in public.
According to the report, a date stamp on the document showed that it was printed in January 2019.
The staff member told The Post that following the January 6 uprising, where rioters were photographed with anti-Semitic images, they feel compelled to report what they see.
In February, Capitol police announced they were investigating 35 officers for actions related to the uprising, and six were suspended.
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a centuries-old conspiracy theory aimed at Jewish people born in Imperial Russia, claiming to give an exposition of almighty Jewish elders creating a plan for world domination.
Although the text was deceptive, it was at the center of anti-Semitic ideology in Nazi Germany, and according to the Anti-Defamation League, has been regularly promoted by white supremacist groups in the US since the 1920s.
According to The Post, it appears that the copy of the Capitol police officer of the elders of Zion came from a far-right and anti-Semitic Australian website called the Bible Believers Church.