A technology executive in Utah resigned from his post after sending emails containing antisemitic conspiracies about how the COVID-19 vaccine is an attempt by “the Jews” to “euthanize the American people.”
Dave Bateman, the founder and chairman of the software company Entrata, was asked to step down after copies of the executive’s emails were revealed to the public and led to condemnation from local leaders.
“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,” Entrata’s CEO Adam Edmunds said in a statement on Twitter.
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Bateman sent the email early Monday morning, initially telling the recipients that they “will think I’m crazy after reading it,” according to a copy acquired by Fox13 Salt Lake City.
“I believe there is a sadistic effort underway to euthanize the American people. It’s obvious now. It’s undeniable, yet no one is doing anything. Everyone is discounting their own judgment and dismissing their intuition,” Bateman wrote.
Bateman then went into detail about how COVID-19 and the vaccine attack the female reproductive system and cause infertility. Bateman also blamed “the Jews” for the scheme, alleging that Pope Francis is a Jewish plant and that the pandemic “will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule.”
“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,” Bateman concluded.
Bateman’s email went out to Utah Jazz owner and Qualtrics CEO Ryan Smith, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, state Senate Minority Whip Luz Escamilla, Economic Development Corporation of Utah CEO Theresa Foxley, and a number of other technology leaders in Utah.
Bateman confirmed to Fox13 that he had sent the email and sought to defend his actions.
The former CEO claimed, “some of my closest friends are Jews,” but alleged that the “Scottish Rite Freemasons,” a group regularly mentioned in conspiracy theories, are behind the pandemic.
Several local leaders condemned the former CEO’s remarks. “We at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms,” Edmunds said in a statement.
“These irresponsible comments are hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them,” Cox tweeted in response.
The United Jewish Federation of Utah said Bateman’s email contained “vile, hyperbolic and untrue accusations against Jews which amplify some of the worst anti-Semitism in our history.”
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Bateman has been a significant donor in Republican Party circles and provided funding for legal bills in a GOP bid to amend how candidates get on the state’s ballot, reports Fox13.
Entrata announced in July that it had raised $507 million through a private equity funding round. The software company, which produces property management software, is part of Silicon Slopes, a hub of tech companies and startups based in Utah.
