Photo supplied, Utah Senate

Utah Sen. John Johnson is distancing himself from the director of a film the lawmaker helped finance that takes aim at critical race theory.

Brandon Beckham, the director of “Identity Marxism: The Rise of Critical Race Theory” and a Utah Senate hopeful from Vineyard, faces a count of forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony, in 4th District Court in Provo stemming from a June 22 incident last year involving a female acquaintance. Utah County prosecutors filed the charge on Feb. 25, a week after the release of “Identity Marxism,” though news of the legal case only came to public light last week.

“I support law and order and unequivocally denounce the behavior Mr. Beckham is accused of, and I send my heartfelt prayers to all victims of sexual abuse,” Johnson said in a statement to the Standard-Examiner. Johnson, a Republican from North Ogden, served as executive producer for the film, putting up much of the money needed to create it.

Johnson said he was unaware charges may have been pending against Beckham, who has denied any wrongdoing. Had he known, Johnson said, he would not have included Beckham in the production of the controversial film, which argues that critical race theory has seeped into the curriculum of Utah schools.

The film has come under fire from some who say contentions that critical race theory is taught in Utah schools are misguided and false.

Image supplied, brandonbeckham.com

“I had no prior knowledge of Mr. Beckham’s charges; had I been aware of the allegations against him, I would not have included him in the documentary. Unfortunately, these charges were made public after the production closed on the documentary I helped fund to stand up for parents and students,” Johnson said. “It is genuinely disheartening he did not disclose this information before it became public, as we certainly would not have included him. My focus always has been and continues to be, fighting for families, students, taxpayers, and the future of Utah.”

Beckham, for his part, said news that he faced the charge came as a shock. “I had no reason to expect them. I categorically deny the accusations made, the details of which I first learned of in media accounts,” he said in a message to the Standard-Examiner.

Beckham also defended “Identity Marxism” and suggested forces were at play against him.

The “credibility of the film is solid. It stands on its own as truth … as to what is happening in Utah schools regarding critical race theory and its negative impact on our children. The politically calculated accusations against me are false,” he said.

Beckham also questioned the timing of the filing of the legal charge against him, calling it “troubling.” Prosecutors filed the charge against Beckham on Feb. 25, according to online court records, only three days before the start of the candidate filing period in Utah, which went from Feb. 28 through March 4.

“Sadly, we live in a world where too often accusations are taken as fact. We have all seen many instances in which charges were later proven untrue, but only after great damage was done,” said Beckham, a Republican. He’s challenging Sen. Keith Grover, an incumbent lawmaker and also a GOPer, for the District 23 post.

As alleged in court papers, Beckham aggressively pursued a female acquaintance — disrobing her, disrobing himself and rubbing up against her in a sexual manner — as the two were watching a movie, reportedly at her Pleasant Grove home. She rebuffed his sexual advances, but he persisted, according to a probable cause statement.

News of the charge against Beckham spurred some of Johnson’s critics to take aim at him. “Great look for you, Senator, to be in such good company,” Taylor Knuth quipped in a tweet last Friday. Knuth is a community advocate from Ogden.

Knuth, along with many educators and others, is sharply critical of “Identity Marxism,” the film. Knuth is a product of the Davis School District and has also studied at several Utah universities and says he has never been witness to clandestine efforts to inject the critical race theory framework in the education system.

“Simply put, critical race theory is not being taught in Utah schools, especially in K-12 schools,” he said. Release of the film, he charged, amounts to “fearmongering, trafficking in panic.”

Rather than a curriculum to teach in the classroom, as seen by critical race theory foes like Johnson, other academics say critical race theory is a means of trying to understand the evolution of racial norms and attitudes.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a quote from Sen. Johnson provided late Tuesday, after the original story was submitted.

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