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Nick Fuentes

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For the Peruvian footballer, see Nicolás Fuentes.

Nick Fuentes
Born
Nicholas Joseph Fuentes

(1998-08-18) August 18, 1998 (age 22)
Illinois, U.S.[1]
Occupation
  • Political commentator
  • streamer
Years active2015–present
Known for
  • Political commentary
  • Founder of the Groypers
Movement
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Nicholas Joseph Fuentes (born August 18, 1998)[4] is an American far-right[2] and white nationalist[3] political commentator and live streamer. A former YouTuber, his channel was permanently suspended in February 2020 for violating YouTube's hate speech policy.[5] Fuentes, who has described himself as an American nationalist[6] and paleoconservative,[7] has also expressed antisemitic views.[8]

Fuentes has feuded with Turning Point USA and its founder, Charlie Kirk, for supporting views that Fuentes believes to be insufficiently conservative.[9] On October 29, 2019, Fuentes' followers, known as Groypers, began heckling Turning Point's Culture War Tour, including a speaking event for Donald Trump Jr.[10] In 2020, seeking to rival CPAC, Fuentes began holding the annual America First Political Action Conference.[11][12]

Fuentes was a prominent attendee of and speaker at protests and rallies leading up to the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[13]

Personal life

Fuentes attended Lyons Township High School, in Western Springs, Illinois, where he was president of the student council.[14] In August 2017, he left Boston University after attending the white supremacist[15] Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.[16] He applied for transfer admission to Auburn University in fall 2017, but he did not confirm his enrollment on time.[17] Fuentes is Catholic, and of Hispanic and Italian descent.[18][19]

Career

Fuentes began commentating on politics through a local radio and TV station hosted by his high school, where he espoused mainstream conservative views.[20][21] He currently hosts the episodic live stream America First with Nicholas J. Fuentes, which he began in 2017.[22][10][23] America First is characterized by Fuentes' frequent use of ironic humor to appeal to Generation Z while providing plausible deniability for his often extreme views.[24]

On his show in April 2017, Fuentes said "Who runs the media? Globalists. Time to kill the globalists" and "I want the people that run CNN to be arrested and deported because this is deliberate." Fuentes also said that "The First Amendment was not written for the Saudi Royal Family". The publisher of the show at the time, RSBN, issued an apology, calling the comments "unacceptable" and "inappropriate".[25] Following these and other comments, as well as publicity over his attendance of the Unite the Right rally, he left RSBN in August 2017.[17][26]

He co-hosted the Nationalist Review podcast with fellow white nationalist James Allsup until January 2018. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, "the two had a public falling out with each host accusing the other of laziness, impropriety and a variety of petty slights."[27] In January 2020, Fuentes' YouTube channel was demonetized and one of his videos was removed by YouTube as a violation of their hate speech policies. Fuentes had previously been banned from Twitch and from Reddit.[28][29] On February 14, 2020, his YouTube channel was terminated for violating policies on hate speech.[5] In January 2020, Time magazine reported that Fuentes was the most-viewed live-streamer on the DLive platform. DLive has been criticized for allowing Fuentes to use their platform.[30][31] According to ABC News, Fuentes has been suspended from "almost all" social media platforms, with the exception of Twitter as of 2021.[32] He has also been widely banned from financial and e-commerce services, including PayPal, Venmo, Patreon, Shopify, Stripe, Streamlabs, and Coinbase.[21]

Fuentes has received support from conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, who agreed to speak at his first annual America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC) in February 2020, and again at his second conference in February 2021.[18][33][12] In November 2019, Malkin was fired by the Young America's Foundation after 17 years of employment over her support for Fuentes.[34][35][36]

Fuentes was among the far-right individuals and groups who participated in the rallies that led up to 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[13][37] His DLive channel was subsequently suspended permanently for "inciting violent and illegal activities."[38][39] He was also among a group of far-right activists and groups who received large donations in bitcoin from a French donor on December 8. Fuentes received 13.5 bitcoin (approximately $250,000), which was by far the largest share. The donor also posted an apparent suicide note, according to Blockchain analysis group Chainalysis, although the donor's status has not been confirmed.[40][41][42][43] The FBI is launching an investigation as to whether any of this money went toward the financing of illegal acts, such as the storming of the US Capitol.[44]

On February 26, 2021, Fuentes hosted his second annual AFPAC event, speaking alongside Michelle Malkin, former Iowa Representative Steve King, and current Arizona Representative Paul Gosar.[12]

Views

Fuentes strongly opposes immigration, which he believes is a demographic threat to the United States.[22] He has spoken out against the "LGBT agenda",[45] and describes transgender people and same-sex marriage as "deviancy".[18] He spoke positively of "a tidal wave of white identity" following his attendance of the Unite the Right rally in August 2017.[46][47]

In January 2019, Fuentes aired a monologue in which he compared the Holocaust to a cookie-baking operation, which led to accusations of Holocaust denial. Fuentes later disputed that he had ever denied the Holocaust, calling his monologue a "lampoon".[18]

Fuentes has repeatedly criticized Turning Point USA and its founder Charlie Kirk, accusing them of betraying Donald Trump by advocating in favor of mass legal immigration, support in foreign aid for Israel and LGBT issues.[48] Throughout October and November 2019, his supporters were present at many of Kirk's public speaking events, which featured guest speakers including Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, and Kimberly Guilfoyle.[48] These campaigns frequently involved asking questions that prompt viewers to look up far-right and anti-semitic conspiracy theories and hoaxes online.[49] Fuentes has characterized the campaign as a grassroots effort to expose TPUSA as ideologically inconsistent with the ideology espoused by Donald Trump and other conservative populists. As a result of this campaign, some right-wing mainstream politicians and pundits disavowed Fuentes, characterizing his beliefs as extreme and out-of-touch with mainstream conservatism.[50][51][52]

In December 2019, Fuentes confronted conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro, who was with his family at the time, outside a TPUSA event in West Palm Beach, Florida. Fuentes had confronted Shapiro to ask why he had given a speech at Stanford University bashing Fuentes.[18] The encounter was filmed and led to criticism of Fuentes.[53]

At a pro-Trump protest in Washington, D.C. in December 2020, Fuentes led a crowd to chant "Destroy the GOP", and encouraged them to sit-out the United States Senate special runoff election in Georgia.[54][55] In February 2021, a video of Fuentes' speech was played during the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump by House delegate Stacey Plaskett.[56]

On January 4, 2021, two days before the storming of the U.S. Capitol, Fuentes discussed killing state legislators who were unwilling to overturn the results of the 2020 election, saying "What can you and I do to a state legislator — besides kill them? We should not do that. I'm not advising that, but I mean, what else can you do, right?"[57][39][58][37]

On January 6, 2021, prior to the storming of the U.S. Capitol, Fuentes spoke to a crowd of supporters, stating, "It is us and our ancestors that created everything good that you see in this country. All these people that have taken over our country—we do not need them... It is the American people, and our leader, Donald Trump, against everybody else in this country and this world... Our Founding Fathers would get in the streets, and they would take this country back by force if necessary. And that is what we must be prepared to do."[59]

References

  1. ^ Arnett, Dugan (March 22, 2017). "The kids are far right". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 1, 2020. Nicholas Fuentes, a Boston University freshman from Illinois
  2. ^ a b Multiple sources:
  3. ^ a b Multiple sources:
  4. ^
  5. ^ a b Thalen, Mikael (February 14, 2020). "YouTube deplatforms white nationalist Nick Fuentes". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on February 15, 2020. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  6. ^ Multiple sources:
  7. ^ Newman, Kalina (August 17, 2017). "Citing threats, student withdraws from BU after attending Charlottesville rally". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  8. ^ Multiple sources:
  9. ^ "How the groypers gave the 'debate guys' a rough time". Spectator USA. November 6, 2019. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  10. ^ a b Gumbel, Andrew (November 11, 2019). "Donald Trump Jr walks out of Triggered book launch after heckling – from supporters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  11. ^ Sommer, Will (February 11, 2020). "Michelle Malkin Endorses Racist CPAC Rival". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Steakin, Will (February 28, 2021). "GOP congressman headlines conference where organizers push white nationalist rhetoric". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Barrett, Malachi (January 7, 2021). "Far-right activist who encouraged U.S. Capitol occupation also organized 'stop the steal' rally in Michigan". MLive. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
  14. ^ Mannion, Annemarie. "Area teen rallied in Charlottesville, got death threats, now planning move to 'solidly red' Alabama". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  15. ^ Haag, Matthew (June 21, 2018). "'White Civil Rights Rally' Planned Near White House by Charlottesville Organizer". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  16. ^ Toussaint, Kristin (August 16, 2017). "Right-wing BU teen won't return to Boston after attending Charlottesville rally". www.metro.us. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  17. ^ a b Johnson, Roy S. (August 30, 2017). "Alt-right's Fuentes no longer with Right Side Broadcasting". Al.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  18. ^ a b c d e Nick, Anderson. "Far-right agitators roil the conservative movement on college campuses in battle to define Trumpism". The Washington Post (November 16, 2019). Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  19. ^ Cortellessa, Eric; Sheffield, Matthew (November 22, 2019). "The Conservative Establishment's Nightmare Is Only Just Beginning". Washington Monthly - Politics. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved April 30, 2020. Fuentes, who identifies as a traditional Catholic and is partially of Hispanic descent...
  20. ^ "LTHS Grad Pushes White Nationalism, Gains National Spotlight". La Grange, IL Patch. September 15, 2020. Archived from the original on January 12, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  21. ^ a b Keilman, John. "Cancel proof? Activists are trying to get Nick Fuentes, a far-right video streamer from the western suburbs, kicked off the internet. It might be impossible". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Green, Dominic. "The groypers are American fascists". The Spectator. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  23. ^ "The Groyper Rebellion". Chronicles. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  24. ^ "How Extremists Weaponize Irony To Spread Hate". NPR.org. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  25. ^ "Right Side Broadcasting, The "Unofficial Version Of Trump TV," Forced To Apologize For Contributor's Call To "Kill The Globalists" At CNN". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  26. ^ Hananoki, Eric (August 22, 2017). "Right Side Broadcasting and Nicholas Fuentes, host who participated in white supremacist rally, part ways". Media Matters for America. Archived from the original on January 6, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  27. ^ "James Orien Allsup". Southern Poverty Law Center. Archived from the original on April 22, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  28. ^ Thalen, Mikael (January 10, 2020). "It looks like white nationalist Nick Fuentes just had his YouTube channel demonetized". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
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  30. ^ "What is DLive? It's White Nationalists Favorite Streaming Platform". The Daily Dot. January 1, 2020. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
  31. ^ "How Far-Right Personalities And Conspiracy Theorists Are Cashing In On The Pandemic Online". Time. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
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  34. ^ Sommer, Will (November 18, 2019). "Conservative Group Fires Michelle Malkin Over Support for Holocaust Denier". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  35. ^ "Young America's Foundation Excommunicates Michelle Malkin for Defending Nick Fuentes". Reason.com. November 18, 2019. Archived from the original on February 18, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  36. ^ Mali, Meghashyam (November 18, 2019). "Conservative group cuts ties with Michelle Malkin". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
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  40. ^ "$500K in Bitcoin sent from France to US far-right groups". AP NEWS. January 15, 2021. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  41. ^ Greene, Leonard (January 15, 2021). "Foreign Bitcoin trader may have helped finance Capitol Hill rioters: researchers". nydailynews.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  42. ^ "Far-right groups received large Bitcoin payment ahead of U.S. Capitol riot: report". Global News. Reuters. January 14, 2021. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  43. ^ McLaughlin, Jenna (January 14, 2021). "Exclusive: Large bitcoin payments to right-wing activists a month before Capitol riot linked to foreign account". news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  44. ^ Dilanian, Ken (January 16, 2021). "FBI probing if foreign interests paid extremists tied to Capitol riot". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  45. ^ "Don Jr. storms out over far-right hecklers at event for his book about liberals "silencing" speech". Salon. November 11, 2019. Archived from the original on February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
  46. ^ Easley, Jonathon (November 17, 2019). "Conservatives seek to stifle new 'alt-right' movement steeped in anti-Semitism". The Hill. Archived from the original on May 6, 2021. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  47. ^ Mannion, Annemarie (August 18, 2017). "Area teen rallied in Charlottesville, got death threats, now planning move to 'solidly red' Alabama". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  48. ^ a b Coaston, Jane (November 11, 2019). "Why alt-right trolls shouted down Donald Trump Jr". Vox. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  49. ^ Breland, Ali (November 21, 2019). "How Twitter and YouTube are helping a white nationalist build a community fueled by hate". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  50. ^ November 8, John SextonPosted at 4:43 pm on; 2019 (November 8, 2019). "Ben Shapiro bashes the alt-right- gets protested by the far-left". HotAir. Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  51. ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "No- Nick Fuentes and his 'Groypers' are not conservatives". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  52. ^ Petrizzo, Zachary (November 5, 2019). "Charlie Kirk has finally had it with these white nationalists in his movement". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  53. ^ Petrizzo, Zachary (December 21, 2019). "Nick Fuentes Trying to Bicker with Ben Shapiro Riles Up the Internet (updated)." Archived May 22, 2020, at the Wayback Machine The Daily Dot. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  54. ^ Wade, Peter (December 12, 2020). "MAGA Protesters Chant 'Destroy the GOP' at Pro-Trump Rally". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  55. ^ Politi, Daniel (December 12, 2020). "Pro-Trump Protesters Chant "Destroy the GOP," Boo Georgia Senate Candidates at Rally". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  56. ^ Goldberg, Michelle (February 11, 2021). "Impeachment Offers Republicans Grace. They Don't Want It". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  57. ^ Barrett, Malachi (January 7, 2021). "Far-right activist who encouraged U.S. Capitol occupation also organized 'stop the steal' rally in Michigan". mlive. Advance Publications. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  58. ^ Petrizzo, Zachary (January 5, 2021). "White nationalist Zoomer Nick Fuentes floats the idea of killing legislators who certified Biden's win". The Daily Dot. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  59. ^ Mogelson, Luke (January 15, 2021). "Among the Insurrectionists". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2021.

External links

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