Yadira Caraveo criticizes Gabe Evans for anti-Semitic posts by a fired employee

U.S. Representative Yadira Caraveo sharply criticized her Republican opponent on Tuesday, saying Gabe Evans had not sufficiently distanced himself from recent social media posts by his former political director that were anti-Semitic and promoted political violence.

“He did not say whether he disagreed with their offensive posts or whether he spoke out against anti-Semitism,” Democrat Caraveo said during a brief online press conference. “To be clear: Hate and anti-Semitism have no place in our society. We must stand up against all forms of intolerance wherever and whenever we see them.”

On Tuesday, Evans, a state representative, directly condemned the comments made by his former political director Jessica Spindle in an email to The Denver Post.

“Gabe completely rejects the offensive material in these social media posts,” campaign spokesman Alan Philp wrote. “That's why he took immediate action when he learned of them.”

Spindle's posts were picked up last week in an article by the Colorado Times Recorder. The online outlet showed screenshots of Spindle's posts on social media sites, including Facebook, that were anti-Semitic, as well as one in which she wrote, “Please shoot her” – a reference to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat.

In 2019, Spindle praised a mashup flag that combined the U.S. flag, the “Don't Tread on Me” flag, and the Confederate flag. She also posted positive posts about the QAnon movement, a widespread conspiracy theory that claims Donald Trump is battling a secret, satanic cult of world leaders and celebrities seeking world domination.

Spindle's posts mostly date from 2019 to 2021, before she first worked with Evans and helped him win election to the state House of Representatives in 2022, according to the Times Recorder. However, the article says Spindle first posted an anti-Semitic image in June.

Spindle's Facebook account has been set to private and her account on social platform X appears to have been deactivated.

Evans' campaign said Spindle was fired last week “after we became aware of a series of inappropriate comments she made on social media.”

Philp did not respond when asked how Spindle was chosen for the campaign's political director position or how Evans could not have known about her social media postings. Spindle, who sits on the school board for the Weld RE-9 school district in Fort Lupton, did not respond to an email request for comment.

Jewish Democratic Congressman Brad Schneider of Illinois joined Caraveo on Tuesday, calling Evans “extreme” and accusing him of “not standing with the Jewish people” against hate.

Evans' campaign tried to turn the tables by criticizing Caraveo, a freshman in the House, for her no vote last November on a bill that would have given Israel $14.3 billion for its fight against Hamas. When she voted for the bill, Caraveo said she opposed the bill because Republicans had designed it to be funded by cutting funds from the Internal Revenue Service. Colorado's entire Democratic congressional delegation voted against the bill.