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A top Democratic fundraiser in Michigan is taking heat for a Veteran’s Day social media post in which she honored her grandfather, who served as an officer in the Nazi military forces during World War II.
Kelly Neumann, a fundraising host for Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson and senatorial candidate Mallory McMorrow, honored her grandfather, Albert Neumann, a WWII German military officer whom she called “one of my best friends.”
In a 2024 Veterans Day post on Facebook that features pictures of a man wearing a Nazi uniform, Neumann praised her grandfather, writing, “His story is a true testament that people can change and love can indeed win.”
The post appears to have been removed from Neumann’s account following Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Left: Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and U.S. senatorial candidate, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. (Shahar Azran/Getty Images; MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Neumann wrote in the post, “Happy Veterans Day to all my friends and family who serve/served! Without you, America would not be here today.”
“I do not talk much about [him] much but my Grandfather, Albert Neumann was on the German side in WWI and WWII,” she went on. “He escaped to Brazil with my Father after Germany lost in WWII and then made their way to Detroit where they spoke no English and worked their way to provide a stable life for their family.”
“My grandfather was one of my best friends,” she wrote. “He was one of the first people in my life that accepted me as gay when I was nervous and scared.”
“I’ll never forget him embracing me and loving me for who I am,” Neumann continued, concluding, “His story is a true testament that people can change and love can indeed win.”
The post sparked outrage online after resurfacing.
Los Angeles rabbi and author David Wolpe commented, “This is so outrageous I had to double check it wasn’t a hoax.”
Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Aric Nesbitt wrote, “I guess escaping justice for war crimes, death camps, genocide, and Nazi salutes is okay as long as you’re a far left extremist in the end.”
“Michigan wants off this ride,” Nesbitt added.
Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., reacted, “When Democrats tell you who they are, believe them.”
“Unsurprisingly, the party that falsely smears Republicans as ‘Nazis’ HONORS ACTUAL NAZIS,” wrote McClain. “That tells you everything about the state of the Democrat party today.”
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Michigan state Senator Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat, holds up a Project 2025 book during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Neumann, Benson and McMorrow did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Benson currently serves as Michigan secretary of state, and McMorrow is a state senator running for the U.S. Senate.
In addition to being a fundraiser, Neumann has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Michigan Democrats, including Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Debbie Stabenow.
Though she did not address Neumann’s Nazi Facebook post, McMorrow posted on X on Tuesday that “on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, 81 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 27, 1945, we remember the six million Jews and countless others killed by the Nazis.”
“The Holocaust attempted to exterminate an entire people – their lives, culture, families – by perpetuating a cycle of hatred, antisemitism, dehumanization and lies,” wrote McMorrow. “Today we recommit to fighting against antisemitism and hate in all its forms so these horrors may never happen again.”
Last October, both Benson and McMorrow were criticized for headlining a “unity dinner” event that featured equating supporters of President Donald Trump with Nazis.
The sign, displayed by local Democrats, said “MAGA=NAZI” and “86 47.” The number “86” originated in restaurants to mean “cancel” or “throw out,” but in underworld slang, it is frequently used as a call sign for murdering someone. The number “47” is commonly interpreted as denoting the 47th president of the United States, Trump.
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Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday in Portland, Me. (WGME via AP)
McMorrow, who is running in the crowded Democratic Senate primary, also ignited social media backlash last year when she shared a violent fantasy about conservative Supreme Court justices.
McMorrow was asked by an attendee at a Huron Valley Indivisible event on Nov. 12 whether there “was any sense in dealing with the Supreme Court.”
The state senator answered, “So, I’m a Notre Dame grad, and Amy Coney Barrett coming out of my university makes me furious. Just on a personal level.”
She went on, “I talked to somebody yesterday who said they saw her and Brett Kavanaugh at a tailgate last weekend,” saying, “I would not have been able to control myself. That would be bad. There would be beers thrown in peoples’ faces.”
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Senate Leadership Fund spokesperson Chris Gustafson drew a line between the Facebook post and Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner. Platner, a progressive Democrat, stirred up his own controversy last year when it was discovered that he had a tattoo resembling the Nazi SS “Totenkopf” symbol. Platner has since had the tattoo covered over.
“From Mallory McMorrow in Michigan to Graham Platner in Maine, the Democrat Party’s fondness for Nazi regalia is a sad and disturbing trend,” said Gustafson, adding, “The fact McMorrow is still silent is telling.”
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
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