Brice Wallace
The chairman of a Lehi-based software company has resigned after harsh criticism of an email he sent that blamed the COVID pandemic and vaccination efforts on “the Jews.”
In the email to business and political leaders, David Bateman, former CEO at Entrata, said he believed “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. I know, it sounds bonkers.”
Later in the email, he urged Utah to “stop the vaccination drive.”
“I write this email knowing that many of you will think I’m crazy after reading it,” the email continued. “I believe there is a sadistic effort underway to euthanize the American people. It’s obvious now. It’s undeniable, yet no one is doing anything. Everyone is discounting their own judgment and dismissing their intuition. I believe the Jews are behind this.”
The Entrata board of directors requested that Bateman resign as chairman and he complied. Subsequent news reports indicate that the company has told him he must divest his equity holdings in the company.
The email drew widespread criticism. Company CEO Adam Edmunds said in a tweet that Bateman’s opinions “do not reflect the views or values of Entrata, the executive team, board of directors, or investors. To be absolutely clear, we at Entrata condemn antisemitism in any and all forms.”
Gov. Spencer Cox tweeted that “these irresponsible comments are hurtfully anti-Semitic, blatantly false, and we completely reject them.” The United Jewish Federation of Utah said the email contained “vile, hyperbolic and untrue accusations against Jews which amplify some of the worst anti-Semitism in our history.” Clint Betts, CEO and co-founder of the tech community Silicon Slopes, called the email “insane, intolerant and anti-semitic.”
Utah Tech Leads’s executive director, Elizabeth Converse, issued a statement via email with the subject line, “Utah Tech isn’t antisemitic. Does the rest of the state know that?” She said the organization is creating a coalition of companies “to help combat antisemitism, racism, and other discriminatory practices and beliefs within our community.”
