DC lawmaker who left Holocaust Museum early after antisemitic Facebook video attends private Farrakhan event

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FIRST ON FOX: A controversial Washington, D.C. councilmember, who made national headlines a few years ago for suggesting that wealthy Jewish financiers control the weather, praised anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan in an Instagram video he posted last week at a private ceremony hosted by the Nation of Islam leader.

"Today we commemorated the relationship of the Honorable Marion Barry and the Honorable Louis Farrakhan in Washington DC that transformed the lives of many," Democratic Ward 8 Council member Trayon White Sr., said, captioning the video.

The 6-minute video White posted shows Farrakhan, who has espoused antisemitic rhetoric dating back decades, including calling Jews "wicked" and comparing them to termites by saying he was "anti-termite," speaking to dozens of people at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Farrakhan spoke highly of the late DC Mayor Marion Barry and praised his widow, Cora Masters Barry, who was in attendance.

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DC Council member Trayon White Sr. during a meeting of the DC Council in Washington, DC on March 20, 2018. White previously apologized for his comments promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.  (Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

"He used the levers and the power of government to serve the little man. He opened up the door for people who would not even be considered to get a contract with their government," Farrakhan said in the video White Posted, referring to the late mayor. "What is there too good for that man and this woman? Because see, he didn’t just do it by himself. Cora Masters Barry was right there in the room when I mentioned the Million Man March.  When he said he’s going to help me do it, there was Mrs. Barry who said, ‘Amen,’ and led the way."

"Praise God for this woman. She is a treasure. A real treasure," Farrakhan added.

Cora Masters Barry is a mayoral appointee by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and currently serves as the CEO of the Recreation Wish List Committee. In 2021, Bowser said she was "grateful for women" like Barry and said she was "going to stand with them," referring to Barry and Dr. Natalie Hopkinson, after council chairman Phil Mendelson, a Democrat, initially blocked them for reconsideration to serve on the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Backlash followed, which resulted in them staying on the commission after the council voted.

Mayor Bowser also featured Barry on her Twitter account as one of DC's senior social influencers encouraging people to get vaccinated.

During Barry’s remarks at the private ceremony, she lavishly praised Farrakhan as a "friend" and "member of the family" while also telling him "I love you more than words will ever say."

"Minister Farrakhan, we love you more than you love us. You just don't know it," she added.

Cora Masters Barry, seen at the podium, praised Farrakhan as a "friend" and "member of the family" while speaking at a private ceremony in memory of her late husband, former Democratic Mayor Marion Barry. (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital previously reported that Barry and other civil rights activists met with Vice President Kamala Harris in her ceremonial office late last year and that she has a history of making controversial statements including saying, "F--- White women" before quickly catching herself and saying, "Excuse me — forget the White women. They’re going to do what the White men tell them to do."

Barry and Mayor Bowser's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

White, who was unsuccessful in his bid for mayor last month, flipped the camera into "selfie" mode, showing his face and other attendees at the private ceremony while recording the Farrakhan speech.

White came under fire in March 2018 when he posted a video on Facebook complaining about the snowfall in the nation’s capitol, saying, "Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man. Y'all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation."

"And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man," he added.

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan spoke at a private ceremony commemorating the late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

A month after the Rothschilds video, White again came under scrutiny after he visited and took a tour of the D.C. Holocaust Museum before leaving early and standing outside the museum while his staff finished the tour.

White previously claimed he did not leave the Holocaust Museum early and told Fox 5 to check with Rabbi Batya to confirm his story, but the Jewish Community Relations Council, where she worked at the time, stood by their statement about him leaving early. After White left the tour, one of his aides reportedly asked if the Warsaw Ghetto was like "a gated community" — and said the Holocaust was "a lot of synergy" between the Jewish and African communities.

"I’ll be coming back to see more of the museum. I didn’t get a chance to see the whole thing," White said in 2018. "But I think it’s a lot of education here, a lot of synergy here between what happened to the Jewish community and the African community."

"This opportunity has given me the chance to meet a lot of great Jews, a lot of people. A lot of good Jews that I’ve never had the chance to meet before," he later added.

Minister Louis Farrakhan, of the Nation of Islam, speaks at Saint Sabina Church, Thursday night, May 9, 2019, in Chicago.  (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

White also received scrutiny in April 2018 after it was reported that he made a $500 donation to the Nation of Islam's Saviour's Day weekend event, where Farrakhan said, "Powerful Jews are my enemy." The donation was reportedly from his constituent services account.

The Washington Post reported in 2018 that White said he was not aware of the donation, but the treasurer told the Post that White instructed him to make the donation.

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"He said to me, ‘I want you to make a payment to the Nation of Islam for Saviours’ Day,’ " Darryl Ross, the treasurer, told the Post in a phone interview. "So I went on the website to get the information I needed in order to make the payment." White would later reimburse the constituent services account for the $500 donation.

In 2013, White said he was "Honored to share a birthday with a guy I admire," referring to Farrakhan and added, "I must respect his intelligence, will, & boldness."

Fox News Digital reached out to White's office for comment, but they did not respond.