The legal team trying to get Rep. David Eastman banned from public office said in court on Tuesday that a photo of Eastman at the Holocaust Museum is proof enough that he is an anti-semite and a white supremacist. Taking a picture by that quote can only mean one thing, the expert on extremism said: Eastman supports Adolf Hitler.
Eastman, an Eagle Scout who is in his fourth term as a state legislator, last year had his photo taken next to a wall-sized quote by Hitler at the Holocaust Museum. Eastman haters on the left have interpreted that to mean that the ginger-headed West Point graduate supports the point of view of the Hitler quote.
But it was entirely off topic to the question at hand on Tuesday in the video court proceeding. Eastman is in court because leftists say that being a member of a group that supports the Constitution — the Oath Keepers — is justification for his being removed from office by the court. The white supremacy accusation was merely a bunny trail.
Eastman, long ago, sent in his dues to the Oath Keepers organization, and thus became a “lifetime” member of the group that is made up of former law enforcement officers and military personnel. The group has as many as 38,000 members. He has no real affiliation with the group other than his dues, according to his lawyer, Joe Miller.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Eastman and tens of thousands of Americans went to Washington, D.C. to attend a Donald Trump rally. That, according to the lawyers for Wasilla resident Randall Kowalke, is evidence that he supports insurrection.
Lawyers for Kowalke argued in court on Tuesday that just because Eastman or other Oath Keepers did not go into the U.S. Capitol, didn’t mean they were not planning to.
Eastman is being accused by Kowalke and the Northern Justice Project of violating the Alaska Constitution’s “disloyalty clause,” which says anyone who belongs to a group whose purpose is to overthrow the government cannot work in government in Alaska. That means, if the argument holds, that Eastman could not even work as a dog catcher.
Judge Jack McKenna is hearing the case, which continues today. It is a non-jury trial that will leave the decision about Eastman and his ability to serve in the Legislature to just one man, a judge who has already said that it appears the plaintiffs have a case. If the judge rules for Kowalke and against Eastman, that would mean anyone who has a membership with Oath Keepers could be denied public employment in Alaska.
But it’s a decision that would likely be appealed.
