A speechwriter for the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has come under scrutiny after being linked to a series of online posts promoting hate speech and extremist views.
Eric Lendrum, who joined the DHS in March under Secretary Kristi Noem, previously served at the Department of the Interior during Donald Trump’s first administration. In the intervening years, he was active online, hosting a podcast, posting on X and Telegram, and contributing to the conservative website American Greatness.
What speechwriter wrote
In one 2021 blog post, Lendrum defended participants in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, claiming they faced “persecution for their patriotism”. He further compared the situation of American conservatives to that of enslaved people in the United States and Jews in Nazi Germany, writing that “enslavement by the state” was possible through the dehumanisation of political opponents.
He also endorsed the “great replacement theory”, a racist conspiracy narrative asserting that white populations are being deliberately replaced, describing it as “real” and “already being put into effect in some European cities”.
Investigations by Notus and The Daily Beast revealed a series of posts from an X account linked to Lendrum. In one 2023 post, he shared a video of protests against Israel’s war in Gaza and wrote: “Cars are bigger and heavier than any one of these freaks. All it takes is one brave driver to do what needs to be done, then others will follow.” The same account also contained repeated anti-LGBTQ+ remarks, referring to transgender people as “child molesters” and “LGBTQ freaks”.
The DHS did not respond to requests for comment. When approached by Notus, the department pointed instead to the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects free speech.
