A prominent Democratic fundraiser omitted key Nazi-related details from an Instagram post thanking U.S. service members for preserving her freedom to ride electric bikes at a waterfront resort.
"Happy Memorial Day! Thank you to all the brave men and women who’ve served and sacrificed for our freedom," wrote Kelly Neumann, a Michigan trial attorney who co-chairs the finance committee on U.S. Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow's floundering campaign. "[My significant other Megan] and I are off to ride our e-bikes in Harbor Springs and while breathing in freedom, we will be taking moments to reflect on how grateful we are to those who’ve served and continue to serve. God bless America!"
Notwithstanding the moral depravity of electric-powered bicycles, the subject matter was significantly less controversial compared to Neumann's 2024 Veterans Day post on Facebook, in which she honored her late grandfather, Albert Neumann, who served "on the German side in WWI & WWII" before escaping to Brazil after the Allies won.
The post included several photos of the Nazi soldier in uniform. Neumann cited her grandfather's transformation—from loyal cog in Hitler's war machine to being "one of the first people" who accepted her as gay—as evidence that "people can change and love indeed can win."
Neumann neglected to mention—then and now—that the German Wehrmacht in which her grandfather served under the command of Nazi strongman Adolf Hitler was responsible for the deaths of roughly 150,000 American soldiers—in addition to the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. Another 50,000 U.S. service members lost their lives fighting Neumann's grandfather and his German comrades in the First World War.
The McMorrow ally deleted her Nazi-themed Veterans Day post in January after the Washington Free Beacon and other outlets reported its existence in the context of rising antisemitic rhetoric in the Democratic Party.
Alas, the saga did not end there.
Last month, the Free Beacon received a letter from Eugenie B. Eardley, a Michigan trial attorney and self-described "First Lady of Law," threatening to take legal action on Neumann's behalf. Eardley accused the Free Beacon of defaming her client by reporting on a Facebook post Neumann made "in her private capacity as a granddaughter."
According to her website, Eardley is "seriously serious about the law." Regrettably, the cool catchphrase is at odds with the profoundly unserious nature of the threatening letter we received, which was riddled with factual errors and false accusations.
Eardley claimed Neumann's grandfather was "not a member of the Nazi Party," citing independent verification from a German military research institute. But according to documents attached to the letter, the institute had merely confirmed that Albert Neumann served in the Wehrmacht under Hitler, while providing no evidence regarding his Nazi Party affiliation.
Among the most unserious claims was Eardley's contention that the Free Beacon's reporting had inflicted "substantial reputation injury" to the extent that her client had become "a political outcast in her professional and political communities." A review of Neumann's recent activity on her public social media accounts suggests otherwise.
Over the past several months, Neumann has posted photos of herself posing with prominent Democrats including Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (Mich.), Gov. Tim Walz (Minn.), Gov. Gavin Newsom (Calif.), and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg. Last week, she posted a photo of herself with former vice president Kamala Harris at a Democratic event in Michigan where she sat "front and center."
In a somewhat alarming development given her family history, Neumann joined Tucker Carlson, Hasan Piker, and other credibly accused antisemites in lamenting the primary election defeat of Rep. Thomas Massie (R., Ky.), urging the congressman to "tear it down on your way out." It's not entirely clear what she meant by "it," but Massie and his defenders have repeatedly expressed a desire to eradicate the nefarious influence of wealthy Jews.
