When white nationalist Nick Fuentes stepped to the podium at the February 25 America First Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, the third installment of his America First Foundation’s annual conference (AFPAC III), the mid-20s “Groyper” cheerleader beamed with glee.
Fuentes claimed more than one thousand in attendance, declaring his effort “the preeminent right-wing political movement in America today.” More than ten thousand watched the event live online. In addition, AFPAC III managed to attract six current or former government officials (four more than the previous year).
While Fuentes’s Groyper effort is significantly out-shadowed by, and vying for a place in, the broader and more ideologically diverse COVID denial mobilization, Fuentes’ boast should be of concern to all.
By attracting multiple elected officials, AFPAC is the most significant effort to normalize overt white nationalism in mainstream politics since the heyday of the Council of Conservative Citizens. While the Council of Conservative Citizens relied on old ties going back to the days of the White Citizens Councils, the Groyper’s AFPAC effort is very much aimed at recruiting and mobilizing a new generation of young white nationalists.
Bridging the CPAC/AFPAC divide–Marjorie Taylor Greene and the Groypers
From the beginning, Fuentes designed AFPAC as a rearguard assault on the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). From hosting his white nationalist conference near the CPAC venue to staged efforts to get kicked out of CPAC en masse, the Groypers tried to influence CPAC from the outside for the first two years. Thanks to a “mystery speaker,” Fuentes found a bridge to the CPAC mainstage this year.
The most significant victory for the group in their effort to normalize white nationalism was the AFPAC III appearance by US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), the far-rightist known for boosting the antisemitic Qanon conspiracy “theory,” spewing open anti-trans bigotry, comparing COVID 19 protective measures to the Holocaust and a sycophantic devotion to Donald Trump.
Introducing Greene, Nick Fuentes said, “I think this is going to be the beginning of something great.”
Opening her speech with “Hello canceled Americans,” Greene echoed many of the themes bandied at the nearby CPAC, where she would also speak the next day.
Greene’s AFPAC message included anti-immigrant posturing, including blaming immigrants for the US opioid epidemic, COVID denial, attacks on transgender people, energy independence, assailing abortion rights, and the absurd claim that communists head the Democratic Party.
Greene also hinted at the Christian nationalism rampant at both events, including the declaration that the US had gone down the road of “staying silent and allowing sin to take root and to destroy the fabric, the moral fabric of our society.”
Greene would respond to criticism of her appearance at the white nationalist event by claiming she did not know about Fuentes’ views, posting excerpts from her AFPAC III speech on Telegram, and writing that,
“The Pharisees in the Republican Party may attack me for being willing to break barriers and speak to a lost generation of young people who are desperate for love and leadership…I won’t cancel others in the conservative movement, even if I find some of their statements tasteless, misguided, or even repulsive at times…I’ll keep fighting against identity politics and Marxism…The atheist media demands no disavowal from left-wing politicians who hang out with jihadis and abortionists. But they demand immediate disavowals of any Republican willing to speak to 1,200 people gathered to declare that Christ is King, and brands them in headlines exclusively by their sins.”[1]
“Pharisees” refers to Jewish religious leaders of Biblical times, a reference befitting someone who praises AFPAC III leaders who declare “Christ is King” amidst a call to a white nationalist insurgency.
A few days later, Greene released “MTG’S PLAN TO SECURE OUR BORDER” by, among other things, working to “Finish the Wall, Immigration Moratorium…Deport All Illegal Aliens, Defund Sanctuary Cities, Expand & Strengthen Border Patrol” –ideas similar to those she had just expressed before the gathering of white nationalists.[2]
“Hello Fellow Patriots” – Wendy Rogers and the Groypers
Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers, for some time an open fan of Fuentes’ and his movement, broadcast a message to the group remotely:
“Hello, fellow Patriots. I really wish I could be with you, but I’m busy getting legislation passed. Things like the border wall…stopping medical tyranny, and fixing the 2020 election…I’m pushing forward in a way that would make you proud.”[3]
Rogers continued, “I’m constantly making the fake news mad. For example, when I say the word ‘Groyper,’ they go absolutely nuts…The more they attack me, the more I want to say ‘Groyper.’” In keeping with a desire to say “Groyper,” Rogers attacked “the communist ADL” and “LGTBQ” movement, praised Confederate general Robert E. Lee as “an honorable man,” and declared, “I truly respect Nick because he’s the most persecuted man in America.”
The term “Groyper” that Rogers has repeated often in recent months, refers to the mobilization led by Nick Fuentes and white nationalist Patrick Casey, then of the American Identity Movement, to push white nationalist frames into the Trump base by challenging groups like Turning Point USA (ubiquitous at CPAC) for their devotion.
Rogers ended on a chilling note, openly calling for murder:
“When we do take back our God-given rights, we will bring these criminals to justice. I’ve said we need to build more gallows. If we try some of these high-level criminals, convict them, and use a newly built set of gallows, it will make an example of these traitors of who’ve betrayed our country. They have yet to be justly punished for the crimes they’ve committed. Nick and the other patriots in attendance at AFPAC, please keep doing what you’re doing. I admire you…You and your fellow patriots are the future. We have a nation to save and a gospel to preach. I love you all. America First. Jesus is King. Wendy Rogers out.”
Rogers’ call for public hangings garnered an official censure from the Arizona State Senate.[4]
As if to drive home that she belonged at the white nationalist event, Rogers followed it up by spewing antisemitism on Telegram, writing, “The media are a bunch of Soros assets for the New World Order. I support freedom, but there is no freedom when Soros and Rothschilds run your banking system.”[5]
Rogers wasn’t the only Arizona politician to make an appearance. After attending in person last year, Congressman Paul Gosar, the sitting US Representative from Arizona’s 4th District, also gave a brief personal message of support to this year’s AFPAC gathering.
“Keep up the Good Work Fighting for Our County,” Janice McGeachin and AFPAC III
While Congresswoman Greene stole the show as the most significant “mystery speaker” in attendance at AFPAC III, the other “mystery guest” generated the attention and legitimacy craved by Fuentes and the Groypers.
Idaho Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin joined remotely with a pre-recorded message:
“Good evening, America First Political Action Conference attendees. I’m Janice McGeachin, Lt. Governor of the great state of Idaho. Congratulations on your third annual event, and keep up the good work fighting for our country. I’m sorry I can’t be there in person with you, but I’m busy here in my home state of Idaho defending our values and battling the establishment of both parties.”
McGeachin boasted about her efforts on behalf of COVID denial, a recurring theme at AFPAC III, and opposing the imagined “devastating teachings of critical race theory.”
On March 1, the Idaho Republican Party issued a press release titled “AFPAC Leaders Do Not Represent Our Republican Values.” Referencing “Lieutenant Governor McGeachin’s participation in this event,” the release declared that “White supremacy, antisemitism, bigotry and neo-Nazism are reprehensible and have no place in the Idaho Republican Party.”[6]
McGeachin responded by accusing the media of playing a “guilt-by-association game,” claiming she did not know Nick Fuentes. “I was invited to submit a video to AFPAC and I took the opportunity to share my views about these vital America First policies,” McGeachin added.[7]
Less than two weeks before AFPAC III, Ammon Bundy of the far-right paramilitary People’s Rights network had issued his own press release: “Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin and I made a deal, I would not run in the Republican primary and endorse her and if she did not win the Republican primary she in return would endorse me as an Independent candidate.”[8]
McGeachin responded, “Today’s announcement by Ammon Bundy that he is withdrawing from the Republican Gubernatorial Primary makes it all the more clear that there is only one viable conservative candidate in this race.”[9]
On the day of AFPAC III, Florida People’s Rights network leader Chris Nelson would post a picture of himself at work, stating, “Would love to be at CPAC, AFPAC or ASSPAC but I’m stuck in the office!”[10] On March 28, Nelson, a staunch supporter of the Proud Boys and AFPAC III “special guest” Laura Loomer, would write on Telegram, “I hope more people go to AFPAC next year!”[11] In the lead up to AFPAC III, Nelson had accused Nick Fuentes of not inviting Loomer to speak at AFPAC “because she’s Jewish,” saying that “I hope I am wrong” and “If that is the case, Nick should reconsider.”[12] On March 2, Nelson would post Nick Fuentes’ AFPAC 3 speech with a fundraising appeal from Fuentes’ America First Foundation.[13]
According to the Proud Boys of the American Redoubt, as early as April 2021, McGeachin had been set to speak to members of the People’s Rights network about the legislative session and her “Education Indoctrination Task Force,” the latter an effort to oppose the myth of “critical race theory” – a topic she referenced in her address to AFPAC III attendees.[14]
Also on Fuentes’ list of former public officials at AFPAC III:
- Joe Arpaio, the former Maricopa County, Arizona sheriff pardoned by Donald Trump after being convicted of criminal contempt for refusing to stop racially profiling Latinx drivers. Arpaio was a presenter at AFPAC III.
- “Special guest” Steve King, the former US Representative (R-IA) known for wondering aloud how the term “white nationalism” had come to be seen as bad, and who had spoken at AFPAC II.
White Nationalism Nonetheless
Despite the presence of current and former public officials at the conference, it is impossible to deny the white nationalist character of the event. Leaders at AFPAC III also made clear their desire for a violent revolution, a national white revival laced with Christian nationalism and authoritarian political domination – that is, they displayed one of the varieties of fascism that inhabits the American political landscape.
Nick Fuentes and Vincent James Foxx made this abundantly clear.
White nationalist Vincent James Foxx (aka Vincent James), who heads the Daily Veracity, took up themes prominent in his own project – ginning up fear of black-on-white crime and white dispossession. At AFPAC III, Foxx coupled the dispossession myth with a call for a political “resurrection” on behalf of the “historic American nation” and “founding stock of the American nation” – the former a common euphemism for white people deployed by white nationalists; the latter a blatant appeal to white nationalism.
Foxx and Fuentes also made clear that the Groyper strategy continues to shape their activism – claiming the mantle of conservatism as they assail conservatives and reactionaries as not “conservative” enough; and offering up the language of white nationalist mainstreaming to advance their project of both recruiting from and further radicalizing the already-primed-for-racism base of Trump supporters.
Castigating the “supposedly Conservative Political Action Conference” as “anything but conservative,” Foxx also lauded the “innocent American patriots that showed up to Washington DC on January 6.” He then elaborated:
“The game is rigged. The system is broken. Democracy is fake…Radical problems require radical solutions, and America first represents you, the people, the true middle American radicals who are sick of watching your country burn. We need to make not only America great again, but the American people great once again. America First is about a resurrection of exceptionalism. A resuscitation of the kind of men that made America the greatest nation in the history of the world in the first place…The historic American nation was founded, molded, and maintained by the historic American people. Our enemies today use terms like whiteness, white culture, and white supremacy interchangeably for a reason. When they advocate for deconstructing whiteness, what they mean to say is they aim to dismantle the very culture that made this country the most desirable and prosperous nation on the planet…Western white culture is the majority culture to which even non-whites assimilate into today in many western countries, and they’re better off for it. To dismantle this is to dismantle those nations. A nation is a people, and if you replace the people and their culture, you no longer have a nation. And so, what other way is to there to describe what they’re advocating for, other than a declaration of war. We declare that we will no longer be beguiled by anti-white propaganda in movies, no longer hypnotized by talks of slavery or genocides that happened a hundred years ago.”
Foxx attacked the Republican Party as having “let go of the rope in this game of tug-of-war” and being “owned by the same special interest groups as those they claim to be against, like the Israel lobby.” He followed with a list of the issues on which this fascist movement is making appeals, a list remarkably similar to that articulated on stage earlier in the day at CPAC:
“From this day forward, if your federal, state, and local representatives are not in favor of banning vaccine mandates, banning mask mandates, instituting an immigration moratorium, halting the resettling of refugees, criminalizing LGBT curriculum, and the forced celebration of homosexuality in public schools, ending all abortion, reversing Obergefell v. Hodges, rigorously limiting mail-in ballots and electronic voting, being tough on crime, relaxing gun laws, allowing the people to defend our families, our property and our communities, and bringing an end to the anti-white indoctrination in public schools by completely dismantling, by completely dismantling the current curriculum in place and starting anew. If they do not fight for the values that they espouse, then replace them, all of them, no exceptions…If you call yourself a conservative, you must have the courage to fight for conservative values. No half measures. The mere wish to not be dominated is never enough and never has been enough. If we want to prevent ourselves from being swallowed by the Leviathan, we must have a deep desire to dominate without mercy. And if you refuse to dominate, then America First will dominate you.”
On Telegram, Wendy Rogers urged “Vince James run for office.”[15] Longtime Nick Fuentes’ fan “Speckzo,” wrote, “Vincent James makes me want to go to war.”[16]
Vincent James Foxx moved to Idaho in 2021 and has indicated he may at some point run for office there.[17] His presence in the state also begs the question of whether he played a role in attracting McGeachin to AFPAC III. On February 16, McGeachin was photographed with Vincent James Foxx, who has also spread Holocaust denial.[18]
On the same day that she attended AFPAC III, McGeachin also reached out to Boise, Idaho Rabbi Dan Fink to ask if he wanted to serve on a state antisemitism task force. McGeachin had previously reached out to Rabbi Fink in January, sending him materials supporting her committee.
As a reply, Rabbi Fink succinctly stated,
“Stunningly absent from the materials you sent me is a clear and unequivocal condemnation of extremist anti-government and white nationalist groups that my community and I consider the most dangerous antisemitic threat in this very conservative state…You give succor to those groups when you refer to the United States as a Christian nation, as you do repeatedly in the… materials attached to your letter.”[19]
In addition to voicing similar themes to CPAC speakers, Foxx claimed that CPAC “represents the nobles and we represent the American people,” reflecting another commonality with the those on stage at the “conservative” event – a middle American nationalism that views, tacitly or explicitly, a middle strata of white Americans squeezed from above by elites and below by people of color and other “enemies.” This ideology cuts across the American far-right, stretching from those at CPAC to the fascists at AFPAC III.
Sheriff Joe at AFPAC III
The event’s core white nationalism and fantasies of violence were so thick that even Joe Arpaio, the civil-rights-violating former sheriff, seemed taken aback at two points in his speech. The first came when he was greeted with vigorous applause after saying, “I have the reputation of being the biggest racist in the country.” As the applause continued, Arpaio responded, “Well, I hate to. I hate to…What are you clapping for, that I am or I’m not?” [Audience laughter] Well, I’m not. I know you guys and gals aren’t either. You’re just trying to do the right thing for our country.”
On that day, at the white nationalist conference, Mr. Arpaio was wrong on both counts.
Then the racial-profiling former Arizona sheriff at the white nationalist event was taken aback again. Amidst regaling the audience with his effort to prove that President Obama’s birth certificate was fake, he paused to advise the crowd how to avoid legal trouble and offer a folksy tale of technology and guns:
“I’m not telling you how to beat the law, but you know everybody tweets and all this stuff…all that could be subpoenaed. Think of that. They subpoena everything in your stupid computers. They can’t do it with a Smith-Corona type-writer. Just take the ribbon and throw it away. I’m not saying to avoid the law, but sometimes you get in trouble when you’re always tweeting back and forth…So, I’m an old-fashioned guy. I use a type-writer, and I got a… Smith and Wesson .357.” APPLAUSE. “In fact, I’m the only guy that had a machine gun, not a machine gun, a howitzer; bought it in Belgium. Everybody says, ‘What are you using this for?’ I said to shoot people that come across the border…”
At that point, things got creepy. Arpaio attempted to continue his sentence with the clause, “when they’re shooting my people.” However, the audience burst into applause, sparked by the phrase “shoot people that come across the border” – and making Arpaio’s words barely audible. Arpaio quickly attempted to clarify, putting up his hand and saying,
“No, wait a minute, I didn’t mean to shoot the illegals coming across; I’m saying the illegals that are terrorist and other violent crimes, if they’re gonna start shooting at my people, I’m gonna fire back. APPLAUSE “But I’m not about to shoot illegals coming across just for coming across illegally.”
From his facial expressions, it was clear that Arpaio was not joking; he was trying to clarify that he was not calling for the mass murder of immigrants that had set the audience to robust applause.
Arpaio moved on, resuming his birther story by describing how the Tea Party asked him to investigate President Obama’s birth certificate. Arpaio responded, “Well, I made it my jurisdiction. Fake document.”
“Hanging on the End of a Noose,” Stew Peters, COVID Denial and Violence
Wendy Rogers was not the only guest speaker to endorse violence and murder. Podcaster Stew Peters of the Stew Peters Show declared that Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, “literally unleashed a bio-weapon on the entire world. Why is this man still running around instead of hanging on the end of a noose somewhere?”
While most at the event were broadly supportive of all speakers, Peters used his podium time to attack Marjorie Taylor Greene, declaring her the “faker Marjorie Taylor Greene” and castigating the far-rightist for criticizing Joe Biden’s support for compensation to immigrants separated from their families under Trump policies by tweeting that Biden “totally snubbed Democrat Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s Reparations bill for Black Americans earlier this year.”
Nick Fuentes later blasted Peters as “a former ‘rapper’ and criminal” who was “trying so hard to sabotage a perfect night…He was disrespectful to our staff, looked like a slob, and stormed out of the conference after his speech.” And “for the people who think he’s just ‘too hardcore,’” Fuentes continued, “he also tried to get me to promise to stop saying the n-word before even agreeing to attend the conference. Lol. Good riddance loser.”[20]
Praise for White Nationalism 1.0
Nick Fuentes drove home the conferences’ roots in white nationalism when introducing the “special guests” in attendance. After giving a shout-out to Michelle Malkin, the self-declared “mommy” to the white nationalist “Groypers,” and Steve King, Fuentes lauded two long-standing white nationalist leaders – Peter Brimelow of VDARE and Jared Taylor of American Renaissance.
Fuentes described Brimelow as “a pioneer and a visionary in the cause to reduce immigration and preserved our American identity.” Fuentes heaped even higher praise on Taylor:
“This is one of the first people that I met, he was very influential to me and helped shape my views, a personal hero, and of course, I spoke at his conference, one of the first ones I spoke at…Jared Taylor has been doing American Renaissance for 30 years. And I look at the political conversation today, and it wouldn’t be the same without him. You know what, people these days, they say some of the things that he says now, even on Fox News and in popular circles, but show me somebody what was saying those things when it was not popular. Show me somebody that was standing up and speaking the truth when nobody else was. Jared Taylor did that for 30 years, and we acknowledge, and we remember that, and we honor his legacy here tonight. Thank you for being here. It is an honor.”
Taylor gave a prominent movement stage to the founders of the Groyper mobilization when he gave speaking slots to both Fuentes and Patrick Casey at the 2018 American Renaissance conference.[21]
At AFPAC III, Fuentes emphasized, “We’re talking about…European civilization here in America.”
Fuentes made clear his racist revolutionary and authoritarian leanings, true for any movement that can reasonably be called fascist – and recall that in 2019 the young white nationalist had declared his longing to be part of a fascist movement.
Fuentes displayed his love of authoritarianism and imperialist wars, coupling an attack on diversity and the veneration of “young white men” with adoration praise of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine – a burst of rhetoric met with chants of “Putin” from the audience:
“And you want to know the secret…our secret sauce here, it’s these young white men. That’s what we call the secret ingredient. America and the world has forgotten about them, but not us. You know, they say about America, they say ‘diversity is our strength,’ you know. And I look at China, and I look at Russia. Can we give a round of applause for Russia Yes?” [Audience chants “Putin”] “Absolutely…I take a look around the world. I look at Russia. I look at China. You know, China they’re editing their babies to be stronger, smarter, faster. Russia, they’re invading countries. They took out the whole Ukrainian. But, but, I rest easy at night knowing that America has diversity.” [Fuentes laughs]
Later, Fuentes would return to the topic, saying, “And now they’re going on about Russia, and Vladimir Putin is Hitler, and they say that’s not a good thing. I shouldn’t have said that. I shouldn’t have said that. Whatever way is there to say that, of course we know that’s a terrible comparison.”
In the form of a “joke,” as he had done when he voiced his sympathies with Holocaust denial, Fuentes here clearly implies that it would be good if Vladimir Putin, who he admires, were like Adolph Hitler.
After the conference, Fuentes repeated his praise for the Russian invasion, this time displaying a crass disregard for the lives of the Slavic Ukrainians befitting both Putin and Hitler:[22]
Back at AFPAC III, Fuentes’s remarks went well beyond the invasion of Ukraine. He made sure to reiterate his support for the January 6 nationalist insurrection:
“2021 began with the historic patriot’s day, as I’m calling it…It was a day for patriots…It started with January 6 and, you know, I’ll just say, as you know, recently I was subpoenaed by the US Congress. And I was questioned about my remarks from last year at AFPAC II where I talked about January 6; you know last year I said January 6 was awesome, and they didn’t like that. But, you know what, just in case they’re listening, this is for the FBI, the DOJ, this is for Adam Kinsinger, this is for everybody in the House select committee on January 6, I’ll reiterate it very strongly once again, just for all of you, January 6 was awesome.”
On January 19, 2022, Fuentes and Casey were subpoenaed by the Congressional Select Committee to Investigate January 6 for his involvement in organizing “Stop the Steal” rallies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.[23]
A Bigotry Big Tent, “Special Guests” at APFAC III
If the presence of current and former public officials at AFPAC III signaled these white nationalists’ ability to build vertical relationships with some in seats of power, the array of “special guests” and attendees signaled their horizontal links to a broader far-right political movement.
Other “special guests” at AFPAC III included Milo Yianopolous, the crass misogynist and anti-Muslim bigot who formerly defended white nationalists during his stint at Breitbart; anti-Muslim bigot and Proud Boys fan Laura Loomer; Kai Clips; Canadian “Groyper” Tyler Russell; America First Students figure Jaden McNeil; January 6 insurrectionist “Baked Alaska;” crass misogynist Beardson Beardly, and Gavin McInnes, the founder of the violent and racist Proud Boys.
Others claiming to attend the conference include Ethan Ralph of The Ralph Retort and Killstream.live and Hawaii-based Proud Boy Nick Ochs, charged with conspiracy in connection to the January 6 nationalist insurrection.[24]
Fronting for White Nationalism – Jesse Lee Peterson and AFPAC III
This year’s AFPAC also continued the practice of bigoted people of color fronting for white nationalism. Last year Groyper “mommy” and anti-immigrant pundit Michelle Malkin provided this service, even embracing the white nationalist term “historic American nation.” This year, Jesse Lee Peterson went even further. Peterson, a strident anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigrant bigot and the head of the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny (BOND), proclaimed that there was “no such thing” as racism, antisemitism, or “white supremacism.”
After stating that “The Civil Rights Movement was the worst thing that ever happened to blacks,” Peterson expressed a core idea of white nationalism and disparaged African-Americans, declaring that white people were hated because,
“you founded and created the greatest country on this side of heaven. It was created by white people. It really was. Ain’t no Chinese founded America, no black people founded America. They were paid to work; even if they were paid food and housing, they were still paid, right. They didn’t build America. White men built America with the help of God…If black people are smart enough to build a country, why don’t they build Africa…If black people are smart enough to build something, why do they turn…when white people move into a nice area, they move in and turn it into a ghetto.”
Andrew Torba, Christian Nationalism, and AFPAC III
In the face of de-platforming from venues like Twitter, AFPAC III successfully attracted a figure from the tech sector to speak at the conference – Gab founder Andrew Torba.
Gab has become the online home of racism, antisemitism, and crass odes to Adolph Hitler. Gab serves as a “safe space” where Nick Fuentes and other white nationalists migrated after violating the terms of service of mainstream platforms, like Twitter.
In addition to lauding his “free speech” platform, Torba used his AFPAC III speech to expound on the Christian nationalism that was inseparable from the events’ white nationalism:
“America is a Christian nation, but somewhere along the line, our tolerance for evil allowed subversive agents of Satan in invade every facet of our country and our culture…The people in power want a ‘great reset,’ but what we’re going to give them instead is a great restoration.” APPLAUSE “If we are going to win, and we are going to win, we must work together towards the common goal of building parallel Christian systems that are beyond the influence and control of the existing demonic ones. Parallel systems can only work if they are built on the firm foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ and the truth of God’s word – the very same foundation that the United States of America was built upon.” APPLAUSE … “We are facing the total replacement of good and holy things with filth and decay. We can no longer overlook social issues in favor of economic ones… Jesus did not command us to sit around getting crushed by Satan waiting to die. He commanded us to be disciples of all nations, and we need to take dominion in his name. His Kingdom may be in heaven, but he himself told us in Mathew 28:18 that he has all authority on earth as well. You know what, it’s time to start acting like it. So often, we are called hateful by people who hate our Lord and Savior. So to them, I say, ‘Yes, I am hateful. I hate sin. I hate evil. I hate Satan. And I hate the anti-Christ.’” APPLAUSE “You’re a racist if you don’t hate yourself for the color of your skin. You’re a bigot if you don’t want men in dresses walking into the bathroom with your daughter. And you’re an antisemite if you question sending Israel American taxpayer money to build their wall while our border is being invaded.” APPLAUSE
At one point, Torba indicated the apparent source of his call for Christian “dominion,” explaining that “David Chilton once said that freedom cannot be exported to a nation that has no marketplace for the gospel.”
The reference comes from Chilton’s 1985 book Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion. It refers to Chilton’s argument that capitalism is not exportable to “pagan nations” and “heathens” who that have been “statist and tyrannical, for a people who reject God will surrender themselves and their property to a dictator.” In the book, Chilton references the “foundational works of R. J. Rushdoony” and refers to homosexuality as “the final stage in degeneracy.”[25]
The late David Chilton was a leader in the Christian Reconstructionist movement, a segment of theocratic Christian nationalism that seeks to replace the US Constitution with a draconian version of the Bible. In a 1987 interview, Chilton declared, “We believe that institutionally, Christianity should be the official religion of the country, that its laws should be specifically Christian… What we’re saying is that every ruler, every legislator, everybody in every sphere of government is directly responsible to God, and must do his job in terms of biblical principles.”[26]
In the same interview, Rousas J. Rushdoony, a towering figure in Christian Reconstructionism, reinterred his doctrine’s claim that the Bible commands the death penalty for homosexuals, people who commit adultery, incorrigible children, and other “offenses.”[27]
Looking Ahead
AFPAC III continues this white nationalist effort to drive its movement into a prominent place in the Trump base present at CPAC. From an effort that began on college campuses targeting Turning Point USA events, these “Groypers” have developed into a movement that can attract a handful of national and state public officials to its cause.
It also shares a broad issue set and middle American nationalist framework with the wider far-right nationalism displayed on the stages of CPAC.
Anti-racists, anti-fascists, and all people of goodwill must recognize that countering this movement requires reaching beyond our own circles to build a mass movement that can also challenge the institutional allies of white nationalism and fascism on display at AFPAC III.
NOTES
[1] Greene, Marjorie Taylor. Telegram. February 27, 2022. https://t.me/RealMarjorieGreene/1663; Navarro, Aaron and Robert Costa. Marjorie Taylor Greene downplays speaking at a conference founded by white nationalists. CBS News. February 28, 2022. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-cpac-nick-fuentes-afpac-white-nationalist/
[2] Greene, Marjorie Taylor. Telegram. March 2, 2022. https://t.me/RealMarjorieGreene/1678
[3] All speech excerpts were taken from the broadcast of the February 25, 2022 America First Political Action Conference on Cozy TV. https://cozy.tv/.
[4] Barchenger, Stacey, Stern, Ray and Mary Jo Pitzl. Arizona Sen. Wendy Rogers censured by Senate after calling for public hangings, attacking Ukraine’s president. azcentral.com. March 1, 2022. https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/03/01/wendy-rogers-republican-censure-arizona-senate/9331363002/
[5] Rogers, Wendy. Telegram. February 28, 2022. https://t.me/wendyrogersaz/3956; Rogers, Wendy. Telegram. February 28, 2022. https://t.me/wendyrogersaz/3957
[6] Idaho Republican Party. Press Release. AFPAC Leaders Do Not Represent Our Republican Values.” March 3, 2022. Available at https://mobile.twitter.com/KTVBJoe/status/1498775284803194883.
[7] Duggan, Alexandra. Idaho GOP speaks out against event where McGeachin spoke. Post-Register. March 1, 2022. https://www.postregister.com/news/government/idaho-gop-speaks-out-against-event-where-mcgeachin-spoke/article_76019a9d-5f9f-512f-a0a4-33d6df1927e8.html
[8] Bundy, Ammon. Twitter. February 17, 2022. https://twitter.com/RealABundy/status/1494356090485497871
[9] McGeachin, Janice. Press Release: McGeachin Responds to Bundy’s Withdrawal From Primary Race, urges Conservatives to Unite. Idaho Dispatch. February 17, 2022. https://idahodispatch.com/press-release-mcgeachin-responds-to-bundys-withdrawal-from-primary-race-urges-conservatives-to-unite/
[10] Nelson, Chris. Telegram. February 25, 2022. https://t.me/chrisnelsonuncensored/9415
[11] Nelson, Chris. Telegram. February 28, 2022. https://t.me/chrisnelsonuncensored/9479; Nelson, Chris. Telegram. March 30, 2021. https://t.me/chrisnelsonuncensored/668;
[12] Nelson, Chris. Telegram. February 16, 2022. https://t.me/chrisnelsonuncensored/9169
[13] Nelson, Chris. Telegram. March 2, 2022. https://t.me/chrisnelsonuncensored/9568; Nelson, Chris. Telegram. February 24, 2022. https://t.me/chrisnelsonuncensored/9388
[14] PROUD BOYS OF THE AMERICAN REDOUBT. Telegram. April 22, 2021. https://t.me/PROUDBOYSOFTHEREDOUBT/5060; Jones, Blake. Indoctrination task force calls on Legislature to make slew of changes. IDEDNEWS.org. August 28, 2021. https://www.idahoednews.org/news/indoctrination-task-force-calls-on-legislature-to-make-slew-of-changes/
[15] Rogers, Wendy. Telegram. February 25, 2022. https://t.me/wendyrogersaz/3867
[16] Speckzo. Telebram. February 25, 2022. https://t.me/speckzo/6275
[17] James, Vincent. Telegram. November 16, 2021. https://t.me/RealVincentJames/10716; James, Vincent. Telegram. October 29, 2021. https://t.me/RealVincentJames/10603
[18] Media Matters. February 17, 2022. https://www.mediamatters.org/white-nationalism/idaho-lt-gov-janice-mcgeachin-was-pictured-vincent-james-foxx-white-nationalist; James, Vincent. Telegram. November 16, 2019. https://t.me/RealVincentJames/683
[19] Moseley-Morris, Kelcie. McGeachin asked a Boise rabbi to join an antisemitism task force the same day she spoke at AFPAC. Idaho Capital Sun. March 2, 2022. https://idahocapitalsun.com/2022/03/02/mcgeachin-asked-a-boise-rabbi-to-join-an-antisemitism-task-force-the-same-day-she-spoke-at-afpac/
[20] Fuentes, Nick. Telegram. February 25, 2022. https://t.me/nickjfuentes/5600
[21] “2018 American Renaissance Conference, Courage and Perseverance,” American Renaissance website, https://www.amren.com/2018-american-renaissance-conference/ Undated. 2018.
[22] Fuentes, Nick. Telegram. February 28, 2021. https://t.me/nickjfuentes/5653; Fuentes, Nick. Telegram. February 28, 2021. https://t.me/nickjfuentes/5654
[23] “SELECT COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS NICHOLAS J. FUENTES & PATRICK” Congressional Select Committee on January 6th website, January 19, 2022. CASEYhttps://january6th.house.gov/news/press-releases/select-committee-subpoenas-nicholas-j-fuentes-patrick-casey.
[24] TheRalphRetort. Telegram. February 26, 2022. https://t.me/theralphretort/2259; Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office. District of Columbia. Texas Man, Self-Proclaimed Leader of Honolulu Proud Boys Now Indicted by a Federal Grand Jury for Conspiracy to Obstruct Congress. February 3, 2021. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/texas-man-self-proclaimed-leader-honolulu-proud-boys-now-indicted-federal-grand-jury; The Ochs Report. Telegram. February 26, 2021. https://t.me/TheOchsReport/4461
[25] Chilton, David. 1985. Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion. Tyler, Texas: Dominion Press
[26] Moyers, Bill. “On Earth As It Is in Heaven.” Moyers. December 23, 1987. https://billmoyers.com/content/earth-heaven/
[27] Moyers, Bill. “On Earth As It Is in Heaven.” Moyers. December 23, 1987. https://billmoyers.com/content/earth-heaven/
