Tag: white nationalists
Kari Lake Appears To Welcome White Nationalist Into Her Senate Campaign

Kari Lake Appears To Welcome White Nationalist Into Her Senate Campaign

Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake has been cozying up to a well-known white nationalist and QAnon-adjacent operative, the Arizona Mirror reports. Wade Searle has been called one of neo-Nazi leader Nick Fuentes’ “strongest soldiers.” Searle lost his job working for the extremist Rep. Paul Gosar after Talking Points Memo exposed his ties to Fuentes.

So of course Searle has been welcomed by Lake, the biggest election denier of 2022 after she lost her gubernatorial bid to Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake continued to claim she was the “lawful governor”—even as she was filing papers to run for the Senate seat currently occupied by Kyrsten Sinema, who announced Tuesday that she will not seek reelection.

Like the true Donald Trump fanatic she is, Lake filed repeated lawsuits to challenge the election outcome. Like Trump, she just kept losing those suits. Also like Trump, she’s embroiled in a defamation lawsuit over her attacks on an election official.

Searle has been showing up at Lake’s campaign events, even standing prominently behind her when Sen. John Barrasso—a member of the Senate GOP leadership—recently gave her his endorsement.

Lake’s campaign and Searle boost each other’s social media posts, and Searle seems to be involved with two Arizona groups, Students for Kari and Students for Trump, the Mirror reports. Lake, Searle, and the groups didn’t respond to the Mirror’s request for comment and clarification about his role in her campaign.

That endorsement from Barrasso isn’t a one-off from Senate Republican leadership or the GOP establishment. They’re coalescing behind Lake’s bid—never mind the MAGA-spouting white nationalist neo-Nazi lurking just below the surface of her campaign. A whole mess of senators are holding a fundraiser for her in Washington this week, including wannabe Senate Minority Leader John Cornyn, National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines, and Senate Republican Policy Committee Chair Joni Ernst.

Is it official now? Has the Senate GOP just declared themselves the party of Trump and white nationalists? Sure seems like it.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Matt Schlapp

'Normalizing' Nazis: CPAC Chief Enraged Over Report On White Nationalists

Critics are blasting CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, as the embattled head of the organization that puts together and hosts the event, Matt Schlapp, is attacking NBC News over its report that states: “Nazis mingle openly at CPAC, spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories and finding allies.”

“Nazis appeared to find a friendly reception at the Conservative Political Action Conference this year,” writes Ben Goggin, NBC News Digital deputy editor for technology. “Throughout the conference, racist extremists, some of whom had secured official CPAC badges, openly mingled with conference attendees and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.”

“The presence of these individuals has been a persistent issue at CPAC. In previous years, conference organizers have ejected well-known Nazis and white supremacists such as Nick Fuentes,” NBC News also reported. “But this year, racist conspiracy theorists didn’t meet any perceptible resistance at the conference where Donald Trump has been the keynote speaker since 2017.”

Schlapp is the head of the American Conservative Union. He and his wife Mercedes Schlapp were once described as the “Trump-Era ‘It Couple’.” Now he is facing a $9 million lawsuit over alleged sexual assault, including “aggressive fondling,” after Republican strategist Carlton Huffman, a staffer at the time for the failed Herschel Walker senatorial campaign, says Matt Schlapp groped him in January of 2023.

CPAC’s list of speakers last week included the far-right ultra-conservative president of Argentina, Javier Milei, who “gave Donald Trump on Saturday an ecstatic hug,” the AP reported. Donald Trump, calling himself a “proud political dissident,” delivered the keynote address at CPAC on Saturday. CNN described it as “lie-filled.”

Schlapp was both furious and dismissive of NBC News’ report.

“NBC’s claim that there was a Nazi presence at CPAC 2024 is false, misleading, and grossly manipulative—especially coming from a writer who has carried the water for Hamas in much of his reporting on the Israel-Gaza war,” Schlapp wrote in a statement posted by CPAC to X. “When we come across someone at CPAC peddling any kind of anti-semitism, we deal with them immediately. Knowing this, NBC weaved together lies and fabrications to create a false perception, and we won’t stand by idly while NBC engages in willful misinformation.”

In a separate post, Schlapp also wrote:

“Yawn. This is a tired old cliche. The Neo-Nazis in our midst are the ones controlling our college campuses and major institutions and grossly populate the newsrooms of corporate media, calling for an Israeli surrender.”

NBC’s Goggin responded:

“The Nazis introduced themselves to me at a mixer and said they were national socialists, started talking about skull measurements and pushing the conspiracy theory that all races were being controlled Jewish people. They were posting about their presence at CPAC online.”

He also provided photos and video:READ MORE: Democrats Discredit GOP Claims on IVF as Republicans Try to Regain Ground After Fallout

CPAC’s list of speakers last week included the far-right ultra-conservative president of Argentina, Javier Milei, who “gave Donald Trump on Saturday an ecstatic hug,” the AP reported. Donald Trump, calling himself a “proud political dissident,” delivered the keynote address at CPAC on Saturday. CNN described it as “lie-filled.”

Schlapp was both furious and dismissive of NBC News’ report.

“NBC’s claim that there was a Nazi presence at CPAC 2024 is false, misleading, and grossly manipulative—especially coming from a writer who has carried the water for Hamas in much of his reporting on the Israel-Gaza war,” Schlapp wrote in a statement posted by CPAC to X. “When we come across someone at CPAC peddling any kind of anti-semitism, we deal with them immediately. Knowing this, NBC weaved together lies and fabrications to create a false perception, and we won’t stand by idly while NBC engages in willful misinformation.”

In a separate post, Schlapp also wrote:

“Yawn. This is a tired old cliche. The Neo-Nazis in our midst are the ones controlling our college campuses and major institutions and grossly populate the newsrooms of corporate media, calling for an Israeli surrender.”

NBC’s Goggin responded:

“The Nazis introduced themselves to me at a mixer and said they were national socialists, started talking about skull measurements and pushing the conspiracy theory that all races were being controlled Jewish people. They were posting about their presence at CPAC online.”

He also provided photos and video:

“Either CPAC is lying about having no idea about this, or they simply don’t have a grasp on who they approved to come to their conference…,” Goggin added.

“Nazis, antisemitism, the great replacement theory, [white supremacist Nick] Fuentes, have become so common among conservatives that I think attendees, even journalists, didn’t think too deeply about them being at CPAC. There was very much an ‘oh them’ attitude about the nazis.”

“It really illustrated how successfully extremists have shifted the Overton window. This year, they were expected, and their presence was tolerated,” he added.

Critics blasted CPAC.

“At CPAC, avowed Nazis mingled openly & spread antisemitic conspiracy theories, as speakers welcomed the ‘end of democracy.’ They are all saying the quiet part out loud. And most GOP lawmakers are silent (or cheering). This is how extremism is normalized,” warned Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. Spitalnick “led a group that won a $25 million judgment against the neo-Nazis who organized the deadly 2017 Charlottesville march in Virginia,” The Times of Israel reported in 2022.

“Seriously, read this @BenjaminGoggin piece and tell me those of us ringing the alarm bells on increasingly mainstreamed Nazism are being hyperbolic,” Spitalnick added.

“CPAC denies the presence of Nazis at their conference this year, but when I reported that @cpac was teeming with white nationalists in 2022 there wasn’t a peep from Matt Schlapp about it,” wroteTexas Observer special investigative correspondent Steven Monacelli.

Former Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY), currently a candidate for Congress running to unseat U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), said: “I am appalled that Nazis were allowed to attend CPAC—an event Donald Trump headlined again this year. Make no mistake: the Republican Party and Trump have empowered white nationalists for years.”

Responding to the NBC News article, former U.S. government official Mike Walker wrote on X: “This is not Munich, 1933. This is Washington, DC, 2024.”

Reprinted with permission from Alternet.

Elon Musk

Samsung, Dish, And ​'Wall Street Journal' ​Ads Appear On White Nationalist Twitter Account

Ads for major brands including Dish, Samsung, and The Wall Street Journal have been appearing on the verified Twitter account of VDare, a leading white nationalist group. Those companies are associating with a site that is largely dedicated to complaining about the alleged danger and inferiority of nonwhites, especially immigrants.

Musk has turned Twitter into a nightmare for advertisers, with accounts featuring antisemitism, racism, anti-LGBTQ hate, and misinformation thriving on the platform. Media outlets and researchers, including Media Matters, have documented that corporate ads have appeared next to toxic accounts, including those that promote Holocaust denialism, and major advertisers have left Musk’s platform.

The advertisers remaining on Twitter are having their ads placed directly on the accounts of white nationalists, including VDare’s verified account. Information on that account states that it’s been “verified since February 2023.” (Musk stated in June that “Twitter will start paying creators for ads served in their replies. First block payment totals $5M. Note, the creator must be verified and only ads served to verified users count.”)

VDare is a white nationalist site and organization. Headlines on its site have included:

  • “One Problem With These Hispanic Immigrants Is Their Disgusting Behavior.”
  • “Diversity Is Strength! It’s Also…Hispanic Immigrants Taking Over FBI’s Ten Most Wanted.”
  • “Indians Aren't That Intelligent (On Average).”
  • “America Does Not Need ANY Immigrants From Africa.”
  • New Wave Of Failure Migration: Ethiopians On The Way.”

Tags on the site include: “Immigrant Mass Murder,” “Anti-White Hate Crimes,” “White Guy Loses His Job,” “Birthright Citizenship Reform,” “Minority Occupation Government,” “Disgruntled Minority Massacre,” “Death Of White America,” “Black Serial Killers,” “War On Whites,” “Jewish Fear and Loathing of Donald Trump,” and “Immigrants And Disease.”

It also runs regular “great replacement” updates designed to warn white readers that they are being replaced by nonwhites. (The so-called “great replacement” conspiracy theory is a white supremacist trope that’s motivated violence, including mass murders.)

VDare has previously posted content praising Musk for calling out supposed “anti-white racism from U.S. Media” and responded to his complaint about the new Lord of the Rings series on Amazon by tweeting, “Elon Musk is /ourguy.”

Numerous companies and even the U.S. government have been advertising directly in VDare’s Twitter account. Media Matters found ads for the following while looking at VDare’s feed:

The advertisement for CBP was an invitation to apply for jobs. Border Patrol has a history of problems with online racism and bigotry in its ranks.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Leaker Behind Grave Breach Of Security Identified As Young 'Gun Enthusiast' ​​

Leaker Behind Grave Breach Of Security Identified As Young 'Gun Enthusiast' ​​

(Reuters) - The person who leaked U.S. classified documents prompting a national security investigation is a gun enthusiast in his 20s who worked on a military base, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing fellow members of an online chat group.

The person shared classified information to a group on the instant messaging platform Discord of about two dozen men and young boys who shared a "mutual love of guns, military gear and God," the Post said.

The Post based its report, which did not name the person, on interviews with two members of the Discord chat group.

Reuters was unable to verify details of the report.

Discord said in a statement earlier on Wednesday that it was cooperating with law enforcement.

The Department of Defense and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Department of Justice opened a formal criminal probe last week after the matter was referred by the Pentagon, which is assessing the damage done by what may be the most damaging release of classified U.S. information in years.

The person went by the handle OG, slang for Original Gangster, or an old school traditionalist. The person was described by one of the Post's sources as being in his early to mid-20s, and was looked up to by members of the group.

"He's fit. He's strong. He's armed. He's trained. Just about everything you can expect out of some sort of crazy movie," said one member of the chat group, who was under 18 and spoke on the condition of anonymity with the permission of his mother, the Post reported.

In what appears to be the gravest leak of U.S. secrets in years, pictures of sensitive documents were posed on Discord and other platforms including the online messaging board 4Chan, the encrypted Telegram global messaging app, and Twitter.

U.S. national security agencies and the Justice Department are investigating the release to assess the damage to national security and relations with allies and other countries, including Ukraine.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Idrees Ali; Editing by Don Durfee and Raju Gopalakrishnan)