DVA Secretary Zimmerman writes letter to Ripon newspaper defending Confederate monuments

RIPON, Wis. — Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Daniel Zimmerman wrote a letter to the editor in defense of confederate monuments to a Ripon newspaper.

In the article Zimmerman argues that getting rid of the monuments would be an effort of “social justice warriors” to “sanitize our history.”

In the byline of the letter Zimmerman did not identify himself as DVA secretary, but instead only listed his home address in Ripon. The letter, which was published in the Ripon Press Aug. 31., was first reported on by WisPolitics.com Friday.

“Blacks and whites who were never slaves are fighting whites and others who were never Nazis over statues, monuments and places honoring prominent American historical figures that have been around for two centuries with little concern,” Zimmerman wrote in the letter. The letter

The title of the letter was to “Unify U.S. by celebrating commonalities, not differences.”

“Black-hooded, bandan-clad thugs call themselves anti-fascists while they incite violence against police, lob rocks and urine-filled bottles, and use fascist mob intimidation techniques to silence those that dare call out their criminal antics,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman confesses that he was scared to publish the article, but by doing so he was defending U.S. history.

COPYRIGHT 2023 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.