Controversial podcaster will not speak at veterans group convention in Virginia

Gavin Stone, The Virginian-Pilot on May 27, 2025

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NORFOLK, Va. — Stew Peters, the controversial podcast host who had been slated to speak at an upcoming veterans reunion in Norfolk, reportedly will not appear at the event.

The Liberty Veterans’ Association will hold its annual reunion on the anniversary of the USS Liberty bombing June 6-9 at the Sheraton Waterside Norfolk Hotel. Peters, whom the Anti-Defamation League has described as an anti-Semite, was named as a speaker in an unconfirmed social media post that quickly drew attention to the event and the hotel.

The LVA confirmed Peters was scheduled to speak at the event but said the other two men aren’t speaking and aren’t registered to attend. WTKR reported on Tuesday that Marriott, the owner of the Sheraton Waterside Norfolk Hotel, banned Peters.

WTKR’s report quoted an association spokesperson as saying that Peters was banned from “entering their property and has advised us he is not to speak.”

The spokesman, veterans association board member John Dixon, declined to comment about Peters’ status to The Virginian-Pilot on Tuesday.

The association’s annual event is meant to honor those who died in or survived Israel’s bombing of the USS Liberty bombing in 1967, which killed 34 sailors and injured 170 others. Israel has maintained that the attack was a mistake, but many members of the Norfolk-based Liberty Veterans’ Association believe it was intentional.

The LVA’s leadership has attempted to distance themselves from accusations of antisemitism, saying in an email to The Pilot that they don’t share all the “views, beliefs, or behavior’ of their supporters, “but … we stand and defend all Americans constitutional rights including the first amendment.”

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4809 is hosting a memorial service at the USS Liberty Monument at their post on June 8 as part of the LVA’s reunion festivities, according to the LVA’s website and the official flyer for the reunion. Eric Mallett, incoming commander of Post 4809, said in a statement in response to the reported speakers that “white supremacy and antisemitism have no place in the VFW.”

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