Thread by @DanielMael

From defending Tucker Carlson’s Nick Fuentes interview to ignoring internal cries of intimidation & sectarianism, this is a story of moral rot at Heritage. Thread 👇

Roberts leapt to Carlson’s defense after the Fuentes interview, framing bipartisan outrage as “cancel culture” by the “woke left and weak right.” Only after pressure did he issue a tepid condemnation—debating censorship instead of confronting evil.

In Feb 2025, a veteran staffer sent every trustee a multi-page letter (two copies each) alleging Roberts cultivated fear, sectarian favoritism, and personal intimidation. “KR swears at staff meetings… I am frightened for my physical security when he flies into a rage.”

The board handed the letter to Roberts himself—no independent review. The writer: “He is a street angel and a house devil.” Longtime staff are bullied out, replaced by sycophants. “True academic scholars have left.”

Sectarianism is explicit: “KR has an affirmative-action policy for Roman Catholics,” leads Catholic prayers in meetings, and imposes theological tests. Staff leave feeling like they’re in a “weird cult.” Heritage’s strength was pluralism—this is the opposite.

Talent drain: Mario Enzler, who resigned as dean after reports he falsified Yale & CUA degrees, is now “Senior Advisor to the President.” Roberts praises unions, shifts from free-market roots, and is accused of calling single women without children “failures with no skin in the game.”

Multiple women raised concerns about Roberts’s comments & conduct over two years—senior leadership was informed, no visible action. The Trump team reportedly has “no respect” for him; Project 2025 was “embarrassing mismanagement.”

Trustees privately voted on Roberts’s future within the past year—Chairwoman Barb Van Andel-Gaby cast the decisive vote to keep him. The same leadership crying “cancel culture” over Fuentes ignored credible internal complaints.

Heritage once stood for moral seriousness & rigorous scholarship. Now it bleeds talent, hires discredited figures, and tolerates fear & hostility toward women. The scandal isn’t division on the right—it’s dereliction of duty.

Full story is here: danielmael.substack.com/p/how-heritage…