Entrata co-founder resigns after sending anti-Semitic email, sparking massive backlash

LEHI, Utah — The founder of a well-known Utah tech company steps down and is getting massive backlash after he sent an anti-Semitic email to business leaders and elected officials across the state.  He reportedly claimed the COVID-19 vaccine was a Jewish plot to “euthanize the American people.”

Entrata Co-Founder Dave Bateman acknowledged the claims he made in his anti-Semitic email to several high-ranking CEOs in Utah would appear outlandish.

Anti-Sematic email

“I write this email knowing that many of you will think I’m crazy after reading it,” the email starts.

Bateman reportedly claimed the “spike protein” in both the illness and the vaccine attack women’s reproductive systems. And that it would eventually erode the number of T-cells a body can produce to fight off infections.

“AVOID SPIKE PROTEIN,” Bateman wrote.  “Don’t get the illness and don’t get vaccinated.”

After claiming that his content was being highly censored, Bateman claimed the vaccine was part of a genocide that was already underway.

The email states, “I believe the Jews are behind this.  For 300 years, the Jews have been trying to infiltrate the Catholic Church and place a Jew covertly at the top.  It happened in 2013 with Pope Francis.  I believe the pandemic and systematic extermination of billions of people will lead to an effort to consolidate all the countries in the world under a single flag with totalitarian rule.”

Response from Entrata and other business leaders

The Associated Press is confirming Bateman stepped down as Entrata board chairman after the news broke of the email.  The current CEO of Entrata tweeted a statement distancing the company from Bateman’s remarks.

Adam Edmunds tweet reads, in part, “Earlier today, Dave Bateman, one of our founders, made several highly offensive statements in an email to recipients outside the company.  The opinions expressed by Dave were his alone, and do not reflect the views or values of Entrata, the executive team, board of directors or investors.

It continues, “To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata firmly condemn antisemitism in any and all forms.”

Statement from me and Entrata. pic.twitter.com/bxKWS9s5zx

— Adam Edmunds (@adamedmunds) January 4, 2022

Economic Corporation of Utah Director Theresa Foxley was one of several CEOs who received the email.  She read it first thing in the morning, Tuesday, and was shocked at what she saw.

“I was aghast.  Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I was reading,” Foxley tells KSL.

She says she wasn’t alone in condemning Bateman’s words.  Foxley says many of the email recipients hit the “reply all’ button to push back against the statements.

“[I was] very encouraged and heartened by the swift response of many business leaders who said, ‘Dude, not cool,’” Foxley said.

According to Foxley, the email goes against the values of business leaders in the state.  Her office was already planning to launch their new Center for Economic Opportunity and Belonging in February, which is an inclusive effort to attract more businesses to the Beehive State.

“Utah is a welcoming place and is a place of opportunity.  It’s a place where we want all individuals to feel like they can belong here and thrive,” she said.

Reaction from Jewish leaders to the anti-Semitic email

The anti-Semitic email sparked a harsh condemnation from the United Jewish Federation of Utah.  They issued a statement calling on anyone or any organization with ties to Bateman to distance themselves from him. They added that any kind of association with him will just strengthen hate.

The statement reads, in part, “The statement contained vile, hyperbolic and untrue accusations against Jews which amplify some of the worst anti-Semitism in our history. It directly attributes to the Jewish people the responsibility for the deaths of millions of Americans and other repeatedly refuted baseless conspiracy theories about the Jewish people and the COVID epidemic.”

Officials say anti-Semitic statements from high-profile people will lead to more attacks and hate crimes against Jews.

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