N y young rep club

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2ND `12 24 FASCISM

afrikaner white geno BS

it is a conf mtg says better armed j6?

see alt rt 4

proud boys stabbing?

racism chat 10 25

poso eveywhere

---

RWW

10/21/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Devlin Barrett and Tyler Pager @ The New York Times: Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases

Senior department officials who were defense lawyers for the president and those in his orbit are now in jobs that typically must approve any such payout, underscoring potential ethical conflicts.

Laura Pappano @ Slate: Moms (and Cool, Young Podcasters) for Liberty

At the group’s yearly meeting, the word went out: Less running for school board, more lawsuits.

Alex Bollinger @ LGBTQ Nation: GOP governor candidate will ban same-sex marriage, top campaign aide promises

"A family comes into place when a man and a woman get married without the same sex," he said as the crowd cheered.

Layla A. Jones @ Talking Points Memo: Trump Is Using ‘Classical Architecture’ as ‘A Dog Whistle for White Nationalists’

One of President Donald Trump’s final actions in his first administration was a last-ditch attempt to confront the impermanence of a four-year term by leaving his mark on something that could last much longer: federal architecture.

Amanda Moore @ The Daily Dot: Private Facebook chats for Gavin Wax’s Liberty Conservative littered with racial slurs, Holocaust jokes

Wax previously called out a DeSantis supporter for his old, offensive conversations.

---

MMA

Right-wing media downplay racist Republican group chat as just “jokes” by “kids” they've “never heard of”

Some also attacked conservatives who criticized the chat, calling it a “bitch move” by “supplicants”

Written by Pete Tsipis & Casey Wexler

Published 10/16/25

Various right-wing media figures dismissed Politico’s reporting that leaders of Young Republican groups around the country used variations of the N-word, made jokes about gassing political opponents, and described rape as “epic” in a group Telegram chat. Right-wing figures claimed people were overreacting to edgy jokes made by young people (even though the participants reportedly ranged in age from 24-35), dismissed the chat as full of nobodies, and attacked conservatives who criticized the comments.

## Politico reported on a racist Telegram chat involving state-level Young Republican leaders, leading to fallout from prominent Republicans.

- Politico reported on months' worth of Telegram chats between state Young Republican leaders around the country that “reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely.” According to Politico, “They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.” At least one member of the chat lost his job while another lost a job offer. One of the chatters, Peter Giunta, former chair of the New York State Young Republicans, was quoted as writing “I love Hitler.” He claimed that the leak of the chat is part of “a highly-coordinated year-long character assassination” by Gavin Wax, who leads the city-based New York Young Republicans Club that is at odds with the New York state organization. Politico, [10/14/25]

- While Vice President JD Vance has downplayed the severity, other Republican officials have disavowed the messages.Vance said people should not “focus on what kids say in group chats” and suggested that the leaker is a “scumbag.” (Despite Vance's dismissal of the participants as “kids,” Mother Jones reported that the chat participants “appear to range from 24 to 35.”) Other Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Gov. Phil Scott (R-VT), and numerous Young Republican state chapters have denounced the text messages. Rolling Stone, [10/15/25; Mother Jones, 10/15/25; Politico, 10/14/25; ABC News, 10/15/25; The Hill, 10/16/25]

- Many of the people involved in the chat are established in the GOP. William Hendrix, who was one of the youngest in the group chat at 24, is vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans. Joe Maligno, who Mother Jones said “public records suggest is 35,” previously identified himself as general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans group. Alex Dwyer, 29, is chair of the Kansas Young Republicans. Giunta, 31, the former chair of the New York State Young Republicans, was photographed with Trump at a campaign rally in 2024. Samuel Douglass, 27, is a Vermont state senator. Mother Jones, [10/15/25; HuffPost, 10/16/25]

## Right-wing media figures excused the chats as just jokes by young people

- White nationalist Nick Fuentes downplayed the chats, saying, “This is just how young kids talk, OK? It is jokes. … This is the language of Generation Z.” He noted, “If these guys are not joking and they’re unironic, you know, they want to kill everybody, then obviously I don’t support that,” but said he didn’t think that was the case. He also noted, “These guys were doing a great thing. These guys are — they’re not woke — they’re base — and they’re doing what they’re supposed to be. They’re rising up in the party leadership. They’re rising up in the government. The mistake that they made is that they were sloppy.” Rumble, *America First*, [10/14/25]

- Fuentes further lamented that the “kids” in the group chats “had their lives destroyed because they made jokes in the company of people they thought they could trust.” Fuentes later added, “You could argue these guys were being careless,” but he blamed Gavin Wax for leaking them, saying he “fed them into a wood chipper” and arguing that “now this guy needs to have his life ruined.” Rumble, *America First*, [10/15/25]

- Podcaster Tucker Carlson described the chat messages as “young men texts” that were “edgy” and said the people involved were “kind of showing off to each other.” Carlson stated, “So these are Young Republicans from across the country texting each other. They are young men. And you might think at first glance that these are kind of young men texts. These are mildly or, in some cases, more than mildly edgy, and they're kind of showing off to each other. So how bad is this? Well, you probably wouldn't say it at Thanksgiving dinner, but is it a death penalty offense?” YouTube, *The Tucker Carlson Show*, [10/15/25]

- Daily Wire host Matt Walsh said that the leaked messages are “not a story” and that conservatives who disagree with him are a “liability” and should “step aside” for other leaders, “even someone who might make the occasional off-color joke.” According to Walsh, “If we’re going to become fractured over some jokes in a group chat and over the next thing that the left throws at us … then we simply, we’re not going to make it.” The Daily Wire, *The Matt Walsh Show*, [10/15/25]

- Walsh also said the messages are “being taken wildly out of context” and that at least one message was “clearly … sarcastic.” Walsh posted, “If you actually read that Politico hit piece you’ll see that many of the messages are being taken wildly out of context. For example, the guy who said ‘I love Hitler’ was clearly being sarcastic. It’s explicitly meant to be a sarcastic joke.” Twitter/X, [10/15/25]

- Rumble host Vince Coglianese, also of The Daily Caller, described the comment “I love Hitler” as “some sort of dark, insane joke” and said the chat is “people who are just edge-lording each other.” He also noted that there’s “flatly racist, bigoted garbage in there” but added, “I’m wondering what the hell does this have to do with anything.” Rumble, *VINCE*, [10/15/25]

- MAGA media influencer Mike Cernovich posted, “If you're a young man of ambition, you don't get to ‘joke around’ in group texts. You will be sold out by the envious if your star rises. Having fun must be set aside as a childish diversion.” Twitter/X, [10/16/25]

## Some right-wing media figures dismissed the people in the chat as “no-name” “losers” they'd never heard of before

- SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly dismissed the Politico report as centered on “losers none of you has ever heard from before.” Kelly claimed, “The left is making a big deal out of this story that some no-name so-called Young Republicans — literally who none of us has ever heard of — were on some derelict text chain using racial slurs and bad-face jokes about, I’ll be Hitler if it’s going to get me more right-wing votes. Whatever.“ SiriusXM, *The Megyn Kelly Show*, [10/15/25]

- Newsmax host Greg Kelly said of the chat participants, “I don't even know them. I never heard of them.” Newsmax, *Greg Kelly Reports*, [10/15/25]

- Podcast host Tim Pool posted, “I literally do not care what a bunch of magger college kids said in a group chat.” Twitter/X, [10/14/25]

- Vince Coglianese downplayed the leaked chats by saying, “I have no idea who these people are.” Cogilanese stated, “I've been in and around conservative politics, on conservative media for a long time. I have no idea who any of these people are.” Rumble, *VINCE*, [10/15/25]

## Right-wing media figures attacked conservatives who denounced the group chat

- Matt Walsh attacked conservatives for denouncing the Young Republicans at the center of the leaked chats, calling it “a bitch move.” He posted, “If you're a conservative and you have a problem with someone on the Right, you can reach out to them privately and express your concerns. Performatively attacking and denouncing your own people in public is a bitch move.” Twitter/X, [10/14/25]

- War Roomhost and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon criticized Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and “establishment Republicans” on Tucker Carlson’s podcast for denouncing the leaked chats. Bannon said, “They'll always fold. Establishment Republicans will always fold, as you know this better than anybody. In any fight, they're going to fold, and they're going to try to be supplicants to the media.” YouTube, *The Tucker Carlson Show*, [10/15/25]

- Gateway Pundit writer Cassandra MacDonald said anyone disavowing the Republicans involved in the leaked chats is “a weak loser,” adding, “Don't apologize or disavow shit.” Twitter/X, [10/14/25]

---

RWW

10/16/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Robert McCoy @ The New Republic: Trump Plots to Use IRS to Go After His Enemies—and All Liberal Groups

The Trump administration is already drawing up a list of targets.

Julianne McShane @ Mother Jones: No One in the GOP Hitler Chat Was a “Kid”

We checked. Sorry, JD Vance.

Will Sommer @ The Bulwark: Racist Young Republican Chat Leaves GOP Stumbling to Respond

Split over whether to discipline the offenders or just ignore the whole affair.

Payton Armstrong, Noah Dowe, and Jack Winstanley @ Media Matters: Calling their opponents “demonic,” some right-leaning online shows are embracing “spiritual warfare” rhetoric

Online figures and podcasters have warned of a “satanic world order” and called on their audiences to “fight these demons in culture if we're going to win politically.”

Shawn Musgrave @ The Intercept: He Tweeted Charlie Kirk “Won’t Be Remembered as a Hero.” The State Dept. Revoked His Visa.

Nota Baloyi is one of several people who lost a visa to visit the U.S. because he spoke ill of Charlie Kirk on social media.

David French @ The New York Times: Something Is Stirring in Christian America, and It’s Making Me Nervous

Despite what you may have heard about the renewal of interest in religion in America, we are not experiencing a true revival, at least not yet. Instead, America is closer to a religious revolution, and the difference between revolution and revival is immensely important for the health of our country — and of the Christian church in America.

Christian Paz @ Vox: The mega-viral ICE videos that explain America right now

They unite — and divide — a deeply polarized audience.

:{:{---}:

an sn 10 25

A Politico article about a leaked group chat of Young Republican leaders from across the country making racist, homophobic and misogynistic comments includes two people from Arizona, one of whom has documented ties to the white nationalist groyper movement.

The group chat of top officials in Young Republican Federation chapters from across the country, dubbed “RESTOREYR,” was leaked to Politico, which reported on a litany of comments made by participants. Offensive comments included making racist remarks about Black people, talking about putting Democrats in gas chambers, forcibly raping their enemies and more. The chat includes more than 250 slurs and one person saying “I love Hitler,” according to Politico.

One of the members of the chat was Arizona Young Republican Chairman Luke Mosiman, 25, who was alleged to have made racially charged comments about Black people and even floated an idea of linking their opponents in an election over control of the Young Republican National Federation to white supremacist groups — before saying it could backfire because it could result in the Young Republicans they needed to win the elections instead backing their opponent.

The Young Republican National Federation released a statement following the Politico report condemning the comments and calling for those involved to resign “from all positions within their state and local Young Republican organizations.”

In Kansas, the chairman of the state’s Republican Party announced that their Young Republicans chapter, which was involved in the chat leaks, was shut down. And he Arizona Republican Party came out strongly against the “disturbing language” used by Young Republican leaders in a statement released shortly after the story was published Tuesday

IFrame Content

But Mosiman and the Arizona Young Republicans resisted the call that he and Rachel Hope, whose comments in the group chat were also mentioned in Politico’s story, resign. In a written statement released late Wednesday, the group instead cast Mosiman and Hope, who is the organization’s events chair, as victims, saying they “firmly reject any involvement in the ongoing political witch hunt targeting fellow Young Republican members.”

Their statement called it “disheartening” to “witness the double standard” displayed by their opponents within the conservative movement. They also lashed out at critics, saying some have failed to condemn violent texts by Virginia Democratic Attorney General candidate Jay Jones or social media posts celebrating the death of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, who was killed last month.

However, the group did condemn “Nazi ideology,” though its statement fell short of acknowledging what was said or apologizing for it.

“We express our sincere regret and unequivocally condemn any rhetoric that could be interpreted as sympathetic to Nazi ideology,” the statement says. The lengthy statement also says that the group has concerns over the way the messages were obtained and their validity.

Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has claimed online, posting a sworn affidavit, that the chats were leaked by Gavin Wax, a staffer in Trump’s State Department who formerly led the New York Young Republican club, whose own problematic chats were revealed in 2023.

Mosiman has been viewed by some as a rising star in Arizona conservative politics, but he also has close ties with the far-right and had courted controversy long before the group chat.

Hitler’s birthday

In April 2022, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar was listed as a “special guest” at an event in Tempe scheduled for April 20, a date that is revered by white supremacists and neo-Nazis because it is Adolf Hitler’s birthday.

The event had been organized by the American Populist Union, a white nationalist group that is closely aligned with groypers, the name for a group of young, male white nationalists who strive for their ideas to become a part of the Republican mainstream and are largely followers of white nationalist Nick Fuentes. In 2021, Gosar was the first elected official to speak at Fuentes’ America First Political Action Conference.

After the Mirror reported on Gosar’s promotion and anticipated attendance at the event and spurred national media coverage, Gosar pulled out. His office said he was never planning to attend, even though he promoted it on his social media accounts.

Mosiman attended, and was later featured in photos posted by APU and in. Mosiman also follows a number of accounts connected to the groyper movement on his X account.

“Like it or not, Nick Fuentes is becoming a force in the GOP, you all need to understand that,” Mosiman said in a March 2021 tweet. “Stop acting like it’s a few nut cases, it’s not. Ignoring it isn’t working.”

Mosiman went on to say that he wasn’t a Fuentes supporter but he had watched his “Afpac speech” and it “was not bad.”

In that 2021 AFPAC speech, Fuentes called the Jan. 6 insurrection, where seven people died, “lighthearted mischief” and stressed white nationalist talking points. Mosiman was also photographed in September 2021 protesting U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly by the groyper-aligned Arizona College Republicans United. The photograph was posted in Instagram with the caption “CRU executed a protest with Groypers against Senator Mark Kelly.”

Far-right YouTuber John Doyle, one of the featured speakers at the April 2022 APU event, organized a “Stop the Steal” rally in Michigan with Fuentes and has posted highly misogynistic content, such as saying that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Doyle, along with other members of APU, were also in attendance at the first 76Fest, which one of its organizers dubbed “Hitler Youth, without the Hitler.”

Mosiman also promoted an event in December 2021 that he called “one of the most based events of the year” which was being put on by Republicans for National Renewal, which has ties to ethno-nationalism, and co-hosted by APU.

That event brought local politicians face to face with a host of far-right extremists, including a number of prominent groypers.

APU has denied ties to white nationalism or knowledge of the significance of the date of its 4/20 event.

TPUSA and Arizona lawmakers

But Mosiman’s involvement in Arizona politics goes beyond the groyper movement.

Online, Mosiman often interacted with many local politicians, and in recent years started coming to the defense of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.

“I used to be not a huge fan of TPUSA, but after seeing hard working and effective conservatives like (Austin Smith) and (Tyler Bowyer), I changed my mind,” Mosiman wrote on X in 2022, referring to two of the Arizona-based group’s leaders.

Both Smith and Bowyer are listed as members of the advisory team for the Arizona Young Republicans chapter that Mosiman leads. TPUSA did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Neither did Nancy Cottle, Republican state Rep. Matt Gress and GOP state Sen. Jake Hoffman, who were also listed as advisory board members.

The website for the Arizona Young Republicans went offline on Wednesday, but archived snapshots were still online.

“Without a doubt, Turning Point Action had the most meaningful grassroots impact on Arizona,” Mosiman wrote on X on Nov. 11, 2024, shortly after last year’s election. “Hats off to (Tyler Bowyer) and his phenomenal staff.”

Bowyer is the Chief Operating Officer of Turning Point Action, the political action arm of Turning Point USA.

TPUSA has long been a target of the groyper movement ,but in recent years has seen itself move farther to the right and courting controversy for hiring racists.

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Peter Guinta, a long-time GOP youth organiser in New York, is facing a storm of condemnation after private chat messages revealed explicit racial and antisemitic slurs.

By Justin Price

Published 16 October 2025,

Peter Guinta, political activist and former leader of New York’s Young Republicans, is under fire for racist and antisemitic comments revealed in leaked group chat.

Peter Giunta, a New York Young Republicans figure and GOP campaign consultant, faces intense backlash after a leaked private group chat revealed racist and antisemitic messages, including a reference to Black Americans as 'watermelon people'.

The transcript, part of a 2,900-page cache first reviewed by Politico, has already cost several participants their jobs and triggered demands for resignations across state parties.

The revelations have sparked widespread condemnation from Democratic leadership in New York and calls for his censure even within GOP circles.

Chat Revelations and Backlash

On 14 October, Politico published a leaked transcript from a private group chat involving members of New York's Young GOP, revealing Guinta using derogatory language about Black Americans ('watermelon people') and anti-Jewish tropes. He also made remarks disparaging Latino legislators and suggesting that Jewish families were responsible for 'global control.'

In response, the New York Democratic Party (NDP) issued a statement demanding that Republican leaders denounce Guinta. The NDP called his comments 'absolutely disgusting, vile, and dangerous.'

Political Role, Influence and Risks

Guinta's influence extends beyond youth politics. He has served as a consultant to local campaigns, a fundraiser for state Republican groups, and has appeared at public GOP events endorsing candidates. His network spans rural upstate districts and suburban areas, seeking to expand Republican appeal.

The Republican Party, already scrutinised for facing internal rifts over extremism and image, may face electoral costs in swing areas if it fails to distance itself from Guinta's statements. Ethnic and Black community leaders in New York have already begun to mobilise and protest endorsements tied to him.

Legal consequences may be limited. Guinta's remarks appear to be part of private speech, not direct threats or incitement, and so they are unlikely to cross criminal thresholds under US law. However, the political damage is immediate.

Hate Speeches Return to the Mainstream

Guinta's remarks did not appear in isolation. In the years following Donald Trump's rise, commentators and civil rights groups have documented an increase in extremist, hateful rhetoric leaching into mainstream political dialogue.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warns that this shift has emboldened acts of intimidation and a reticence to hold powerful actors accountable. In a recent ACLU commentary, staff attorneys highlighted how the administration's posture since Charlie Kirk's killing has targeted public discourse, threatening retaliation against those who criticise. It's a move they say mirrors historical censorship campaigns.

Online hate speech has surged across the US, often targeting racial, ethnic and religious minorities. Data from civil society and academic studies show that political discourse on social media increasingly includes dehumanising language, slurs, and calls for violence.

Free Speech Vs Consequences

Legal experts note that while much of the speech occurred in private chats and is unlikely to trigger criminal charges, political and professional consequences are swift in a climate where employers and committees enforce conduct standards. Prior cases show parties sanctioning members for bigotry even in the absence of legal liability.

Senior Democrats in New York denounced the rhetoric as 'vile' and dangerous, while Republicans moved to distance the party from those involved; national and state Young Republican bodies urged implicated members to step aside. Several participants lost roles within hours of the story breaking, underscoring reputational risk as 2026 races ramp up.

The episode threatens Republican outreach in diverse New York districts. Black, Jewish and Latino leaders have mobilised to press candidates about ties to Giunta and others named in the leak, betting that silence will carry electoral costs in suburbs and swing counties. Strategists warn of lasting brand damage if disavowals are slow or equivocal.

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leaked Telegram chats exposed Young Republican leaders including, William Hendrix and Peter Giunta, using racist slurs and joking about gas chambers and slavery. The messages, obtained by Politico, reveal a toxic campaign to push the GOP youth wing further right.

Williams Hendrix and Peter Guinta

A trove of leaked messages has exposed a disturbing undercurrent of racism, misogyny, and violent rhetoric among several leaders of Young Republican chapters across the US, with Kansas’ William Hendrix and New York’s Peter Giunta at the center of the scandal.

The Politico-exclusive investigation reveals more than 2,900 pages of private Telegram messages exchanged between millennial and Gen Z GOP leaders from New York, Kansas, Vermont, and Arizona between January and August of this year. The messages were filled with slurs, jokes about gas chambers, and derogatory references to Black people, revealing the extreme tone of internal conversations as these leaders campaigned to steer the Young Republican movement further right, under a hardline pro-Trump agenda.

Who Is William Hendrix?

William Hendrix, vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, was revealed to have used racial slurs, including variations of the N-word, more than a dozen times in the chat logs. Hendrix has not commented on the story since the leak became public.

Who Is Peter Giunta?

Peter Giunta, the former chair of the New York State Young Republicans and current chief of staff to NY State Assemblyman Mike Reilly, is perhaps the most high-profile figure implicated in the leaked Telegram chats. His name appears repeatedly in disturbing and often violent messages shared among Young Republican leaders nationwide.

In one message, Giunta wrote, “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber,” referring to an internal election to lead the Young Republican National Federation, a 15,000-member GOP youth group. He followed it up with: “I’m going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man. We only want true believers.” When another participant questioned the extremity of gassing supporters, Giunta doubled down, stating, “We only want true believers.”

His rhetoric didn't stop there. Giunta openly referred to Black people as “monkeys” and “the watermelon people,” and when asked about watching an NBA playoff game, he replied, “I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey play ball.” In another comment about a darker-skinned pilot, he wrote, “If your pilot is a she and she looks ten shades darker than someone from Sicily, just end it there. Scream the no no word.”

He also expressed admiration for Hitler, writing, “Great. I love Hitler,” and described a New York teenage Republican group as “mega based” because, as he claimed, “They support slavery and all that shit.” In response to rival Young Republican leader Hayden Padgett, Giunta referred to him as “Hayden F----t” and said he would make one of Padgett’s allies “unalive himself on the convention floor.”

He also lobbed slurs at entire state delegations, calling Minnesota “f----ts,” Arkansas “inbred cow fuckers,” Maryland “fat stinky Jew,” and Rhode Island “traitorous c---s who I will eradicate from the face of this planet.”

In an apparent joke about finances, he also claimed, “I drained $10k tonight to pay for my next vacation to Italy,” referring to the New York State Young Republicans' bank account, and added, “I spent it on massage.”

Although Giunta has since issued a public apology, calling the language “insensitive and inexcusable,” he also claimed that the message logs may have been “deceptively doctored.” He alleged the leaks were part of a “highly-coordinated year-long character assassination” orchestrated by Gavin Wax, a former Trump administration staffer and current leader of a rival faction within the GOP youth movement. Giunta argued that this was a vendetta carried out by the New York City Young Republican Club due to internal disputes.

Public Fallout and Party Response

The revelations have drawn swift condemnation from prominent New York Republicans, including Rep. Elise Stefanik and State Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, both of whom have publicly distanced themselves from the individuals involved and the offensive rhetoric exposed in the leaked chats.

Sen. Ortt called for those responsible to resign, stating, “I was shocked and disgusted to learn about the racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic comments attributed to members of the New York State Young Republicans. This behavior is indefensible and has no place in our party or anywhere in public life.”

A spokesperson for Rep. Stefanik emphasized that none of the individuals in the chat had ever been employed by her office. In a statement, she said, “If Politico’s description of the comments is accurate, the remarks are heinous, antisemitic, racist, and completely unacceptable. Congresswoman Stefanik calls on any New York Young Republicans responsible for these horrific comments to step down immediately.”

Many of the individuals involved in the chat currently hold positions within government or GOP political operations, and at least one serves as a state senator, making the leak even more alarming to party officials.

The messages also reveal a calculated strategy to take control of the Young Republican National Federation, while spreading extreme views under the guise of party organizing. The chats repeatedly mock minority groups, refer to Black Americans using racial slurs, and joke about slavery, rape, and extermination.

Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.

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AN 10 25

In an exclusive story, Politico got access to thousands of private messages revealing young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers and slavery, among other "insensitive and inexcusable" topics.

The chats took place on theTelegram app, Politico reports. In them, they "referred to Black people as monkeys and 'the watermelon people' and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers."

Kansas Young Republicans vice chair William Hendrix, former vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans Bobby Walker and Chairman of the Association of New York State Young Republican Clubs Peter Giunta were among the Republican leaders named in the report.

“Can we fix the showers?” Joe Maligno, who previously identified himself as the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, replied.

“I’m ready to watch people burn now,” Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committeewoman, said.

IFrame Content

The 2,900 pages of chats shared among young Republicans between January and mid-August also featured members talking "about the pressure to cow to Trump to avoid being called a RINO."

Giunta, Politco reports, apologized, saying “I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republicans."

“While I take complete responsibility, I have had no way of verifying their accuracy and am deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored," Giunta said.

Social media, however, wasn't so accepting of the apology, nor were they surprised about the context of the messages.

"Shocked. Shocked I tell you. Who could have expected this from them?" wrote veteran Kirk Wolffon X.

"This is Charlie Kirk's legacy," wrote Drew Smith on X.

"They can't even scream liberal 'fake news!' cause it was leaked by Republicans," wrote Profiteroles Carmichael on X.

"This is sickening, the rhetoric needs to be toned down on both sides, and even though I voted for Pres Trump 3 times, he needs to stop it too, we need a calm leader who wants to unite the country, not childish memes and name calling," wrote Sherri Twigg on X.

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rww

07/21/2025

Kyle Mantyla

Colby Hall @ Mediaite: Tulsi Gabbard’s Desperate Russia Hail Mary Knocked Down By GOP’s Own Findings

As the news cycle enters its third week of “Epstein Files” frenzy, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence pick, Tulsi Gabbard, is throwing a Hail Mary—an obvious and cynical distraction. But a GOP-led Senate Intelligence report from five years ago is more than enough to swat it down.

David Edwards @ Raw Story: Michael Flynn floats 'military trial for Obama' despite presidential immunity

Disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn suggested former President Barack Obama should face a "military trial" after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused him of a "treasonous conspiracy" to undermine Donald Trump's presidency.

Art Jipson @ The Conversation: How the QAnon movement entered mainstream politics – and why the silence on Epstein files matters.

Over time, what started as a baseless conspiracy on obscure platforms has migrated into the mainstream. It has influenced rhetoric and policy debates, and even reshaped the American political landscape. The foundational belief of many of the QAnon followers is that Trump is a heroic figure fighting the elite pedophile ring.

Matt Gertz @ Media Matters: Trump’s latest attempt to defuse the Epstein revolt: Point supporters at common enemies

President Donald Trump is seeking to reunify allies enraged by his administration’s repudiation of MAGA claims about late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein by offering up spurious attacks on common and familiar enemies: the media — in this case Rupert Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal — and former President Barack Obama.

Janna Brancolini @ The Daily Beast: Trump’s Autopen Attack Dog Vows to Review Biden’s SCOTUS Appointment

Amid the Jeffrey Epstein saga, Rep. James Comer claimed Joe Biden’s alleged autopen use was the “biggest scandal in the history of American politics.”

Thomas Joscelyn and Norman Eisen @ The Bulwark: Unfit to Serve: Jeanine Pirro Made Excuses for Jan. 6th

Senators weighing her nomination for U.S. attorney should revisit her remarks denigrating prosecutors and calling defendants “hostages.”

Russell Payne @ Salon: Meet the young Republicans who want to deport Zohran Mamdani

NYC's Young Republican club cosplays as a deadly political weapon, but may be less ferocious than it appears.

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ref salon

it was about half an hour late for a media workshop on an early July evening hosted by the New York Young Republicans Club on the campus of Lehman College in the Bronx. (The New York subway is not plagued by crime, contrary to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s claims. But it often runs late.) Even so, I was the first person to make it to the studio.

When the other attendees filed in, there were about a dozen-odd people there, ready to learn the secrets of defeating the liberal media in the marketplace of ideas. That count includes the employees at the studio as well as the organizers from the club.

The modest attendance offered a hint: Despite the headlines and social media buzz New York’s young Republicans have generated for hosting MAGA-era superstars like Steve Bannon or calling for the deportation of Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, the NYYRC may not quite be the deadly political weapon it cosplays as in online spaces.

“NYC is counting on you”: Republicans ask Trump to deport Mamdani under Cold War-era law

In the waiting area, one club member discussed late-night drinking downtown, while two others discussed their views that progressives were the “Stalinists of the 21st century.” Another joked about doing an episode in “Italian Brainrot,” a so-dumb-it’s-hard-to-explain meme, as a way to appeal to the kids.

The Lehman event on July 2 was billed as a crash course in “media takeover,” but could more accurately be described as an introductory course in using the City University of New York’s resources to make a public access TV show. It concluded with a live taping of “Banned in the Bronx,” an in-house show of the NYYRC’s Bronx caucus.

As the show’s nu-metal intro music blared and attendees signed waiver forms authorizing their appearance on camera, host Chris Reid — who also chairs the Bronx caucus — announced with a wry smile that this week’s show was all about “the N-word,” which here, apparently, refers to “narrative.”

No one present acknowledged the obvious irony of using a public university’s freely available resources to create a TV program claiming that the government wants to censor conservatives. To state the obvious, “Banned in the Bronx” is not, in fact, banned in the Bronx or anywhere else.

No one at this Young Republican event acknowledged the obvious irony of using a public university’s freely available resources to create a TV program claiming that the government wants to censor conservatives.

The legend of the Trump-era NYYRC begins in 2019, when the club’s former president and current chairman, Gavin Wax, got a bunch of his conservative friends together and staged a takeover of what was then a semi-dormant organization. While that internal coup has been described as contentious in some media accounts, Wax told Salon that any animosity between his contingent and the former leadership only arose after the fact. When the club held its elections in 2019, Wax said, he ran unopposed, and former leaders didn’t put up much of a fight.

That was a turning point of sorts. There have been many iterations of youth-oriented Republican organizations in New York City, dating back all the way to the party’s origins in the 1850s. But prior to the Trump era, the NYYRC been a relatively small and generally quiet organization of moderate Republicans, the sort of people the club’s current members would probably describe as “liberals.” (New York, in fact, has a long tradition of moderate and liberal Republicans — pretty much an extinct breed today — including such legendary figures as Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in the 1940s and Sen. Jacob Javits in the 1970s.)

Wax transformed the club into a Trump-loving red-meat right-wing organization for New York Republicans under age 40. He told Salon that he and his followers found the club as an organization of just 30 to 40 dues-paying members and left it a club of around 1,800. Each pays $75 a year if they’re under 40, and $375 for “associate” membership if they’re older. You can buy a lifetime membership for $10,000.

Intriguingly, the club has no official affiliation with either the city or state Republican party organizations. In fact, Wax— whose name has been floated as a potential FCC commissioner under the Trump administration — described the relationship with local Republican officials as “hostile.” Spokespeople for the NYC Republican Party didn’t respond to a request for comment.

All of this contributes to the club’s self-created myth as a fearless band of rebels, boldly airing conservative opinions in an overwhelmingly liberal city. This flattering creation narrative was solidified during the COVID pandemic, when right-wing complaints over social distancing, mask requirements and other health and safety initiatives led to what current members remember as acts of resistance.

The marquee event for the young Republicans is their yearly gala, which have featured speakers as illustrious as Donald Trump himself, as well as Bannon and now-disgraced former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.

In Trump’s 2023 to the club, Wax introduced him as a “hometown hero” and as the “45th, the 46th and the 47th president of the United States” before Trump took the stage and the crowd listened to Lee Greenwood’s “Proud to be an American” in full. In his remarks, Trump dunked on then-rival Ron DeSantis and defended his infamous comments promising not be a dictator “except for day one.”

A defining event for the modern club, however, was its “forbidden gala” in 2020, which took place across the Hudson River in Jersey City. That evening saw 100 or so members gather to hear Gaetz — at the time, a MAGA superstar — deliver a keynote speech. The event drew criticism from elected officials and the media for flouting public health regulations, while simultaneously greatly raising the profile of the club and cementing its self-image as a band of rebels in the big city.

Stefano Forte, the NYYRC’s current president, told Salon that he sees it, the club as “revolutionary,” apparently for its enthusiastic support of a 79-year-old billionaire who has twice been elected president.

“We’re cultivating a cool social movement,” Forte said. “That’s what makes this club so special. It’s cool to be a Republican in New York City. Everybody is a Democrat. Everybody is a hive mind. And when they see a group of young people that think differently, it’s cool. It’s revolutionary.”

Members of the club’s more political core membership are quick to discuss what they see as their influence in both local and national conservative politics. As they see things, the club has become real power broker in New York City Republican politics.

Members take credit for elevating Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa to the GOP nomination in the 2021 mayoral race, elevating candidates like City Council Member Inna Vernikov and defeating the “cabal of ex-Democrats” that allegedly steer city Republican politics. (Sliwa is once again the nominee in this year’s highly contentious race, with little or no chance of winning.) It’s not uncommon for members of the club who have run for office themselves to boast about getting more votes than any Republican in their district in recent history, even though in nearly all cases they still lost handily.

According to club leadership, its power comes down to the club’s ability to mobilize a volunteer force for canvassing purposes. According to one member of leadership, Trump even told them personally that their efforts in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, tdelivered the state to him in 2024.

But amid all this, the 2020 “forbidden gala” still stands as the quintessential act of resistance from the club, bucking oppressive Democratic rule in New York City and the surrounding region. But perhaps most of all not as a brave act of rebellion but because it gave a bunch of right-wing 20-somethings an excuse to hang out and discuss their support for decades-old conservative policies.

The NYYRC’s Aperol Spritz-themed Fourth of July social, billed as the “Stars, Stripes, & Spritz Annual Independence Day Rooftop Bash,” was well attended with around 120 people packed into the third floor of Bella Union, a chic rooftop bar on the East Side of Manhattan. Based on an assortment of interviews with attendees, this sort of thing was exactly why they joined the club.

The overall vibe was less like a Trump rally than one of the “Make America Hot Again” social events lovingly covered in publications owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch.

There were certainly die-hard Trump lovers and aspiring political operatives on hand, along with a larger proportion of people who espoused vaguely conservative worldviews but told Salon they were mostly there to meet people and hang out. Perhaps more surprisingly, almost no one at the event seemed to know what the club was up to politically.

Joshua Shu said that he had been a member for two years, but was “not really hyper-political.” The Trump administration, he added, was “a little more extreme” than he had expected. When asked, Shu said that he wasn’t aware of the club’s recent call to have Mamdani deported under the Communist Control Act, a 1954 law that bans members of the Communist Party from serving in certain elected offices and government jobs. (Mamdani is not, needless to say, a member of the Communist Party, whose existence at this point is nominal.)

“I don’t want him to be mayor,” Shu said, but calling for actual deportation was going “too far.”

Daniela May, who ran for City Council in 2023, told Salon that she had also been a member of the club for the last two years, as well as its Black Caucus. She said she didn’t plan to be politically active in the current mayor’s race and was withholding judgment on the Trump administration, since she was taking a “political break.”

Another attendee, a young man in a fishnet polo shirt who identified himself only as Brendan, told Salon that he didn’t pay much attention to politics, but had been thinking about Trump’s failure to release new information regarding infamous child-sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.

“I think that they are well acquainted,” Brendan said. “I think that all politicians are basically the same.”

“When it came down to this election,” he added, “I thought that Trump was better than Biden, for sure.” (Joe Biden was not on the ballot in 2024.)

When asked what he liked about the Trump administration, Brendan said that he was a fan of the mass deportation policy and that he saw El Salvador and its president, Nayib Bukele, as models for the United States.

Bukele had “locked up every single gang member in the entire country, and now they are the safest country in the Western Hemisphere,” Brendan said. “He locked up people that maybe were not criminals. So I think it’s the same thing, like, having to round up everybody is going to be tough, but at the end of the day, it needs to be done.”

When asked about what he thought of the GOP’s recent “big beautiful” budget bill, Brendan said, “I think that I got to take care of myself in life. I’m trying to like, be a millionaire. So Medicaid doesn’t really affect me. When it comes to the Epstein files, I think that’s very similar to Hillary’s emails, like, they will just have this sort of information and hold it from the public.”

Brendan was not the only young Republican present that evening who was having second thoughts about Trump over the so-called Epstein files.

Though much of the club’s membership seems more interested in aesthetic conservatism than in serious political engagement, there is still a nucleus that sees the club as an incubator for future conservative leadership and as a tool to launch their own careers. Even those more dedicated members seemed inclined to hedge on some of the NYYRC’s more authoritarian positions.

Nathan Berger, the current vice chairman, previously served as vice president under Wax and was one of the members who joined as part of the 2019 takeover. When asked about the apparent lack of support for some of the group’s position, such as calling for the deportation of political opponents, Berger said, “Hyperbole certainly has its place in discourse. It’s a rhetorical vehicle that has its place.”

“But when we look at Mamdani as an individual who has publicly backed certain groups, as Congressman [Andy] Ogles [//george santos?] indicated in his letter to the Department of Justice, there’s an open question around exactly what was disclosed when he applied for naturalized citizenship. I think it’s important that every individual who’s applied for naturalized citizenship be scrutinized, and to the extent that their values don’t comport with the interests of this country, that the Department of Justice take appropriate measures accordingly.”

When asked whether deporting Mamdani over his political beliefs might set a dangerous precedent, Berger said, “I don’t look at it as deporting anyone because they’re a political opponent. I think it’s a question of raising the bar for what it means to be a citizen of this country, and applying, in a very strict way, the regulations and laws that are already in place.”

Elizabeth Ruh, the house chairwoman of the club, said she became politically active in the club during the pandemic, attending protests against public health measures and against removing the statue of former President Teddy Roosevelt outside the American Museum of Natural History.

When asked what she thought about the club’s call to deport Mamdani, she said, “That was more tongue in cheek. I don’t think he’s here illegally.”

After about 10 minutes of conversation with Ruh, she asked if she might be able to add a “hot take” to her comments — one which could be seen as indicative of the thought-revolution these young Republicans are selling.

“All right, hot take: The Democrat Party is the party of racists. Always has been, still is,” Ruh said. “They are the party of the Confederate South. They are the party of the Ku Klux Klan. They are the party of Jim Crow, the party that opposed the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. They are the party that wanted redlining, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.”

---

AN 12 24

Some defenders of President-elect Donald Trump and the MAGA movement argue that when MAGA Republicans say threatening, ominous things online, they are simply blowing off steam. More than once, Vice-President-elect JD Vance has accused Trump's critics of blowing his comments way out of proportion and failing to realize that some of his in-your-face comments are simply meant to be humorous.

But The Atlantic's Ali Breland, in an article published on December 18, stresses that when MAGA Republicans say disturbing things, they need to be taken seriously.

Breland recently attended a New York Young Republicans Club gathering, where the MAGA attendees included "War Room" host Steve Bannon (the keynote speaker), Proud Boys co-founder Gavin McInnes, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), and Rep.-elect Brandon Gill (R-Texas). And one of the big takeaways, according to Breland, is that MAGA Republicans are even more disturbing in person than they are online.

McInnes, at the event, angrily told Breland, "You should slit your wrists."

"Trump and his supporters haven't exactly been quiet about their fantasies and promises," Breland explains. "Trump talked about mass deportations all throughout the campaign, and has doubled down since his victory. But there is a meaningful difference between being aware of the rhetoric and truly experiencing its full force."

Breland continues, "As a reporter who covers the far-right internet, I've seen countless posts from people like Gill and Bannon talking about deporting as many immigrants as possible or incarcerating Democrats and the press. But to hear these men fervently say it and watch a crowd of more than 1000 erupt into cheers and laughter in response added a new dimension."

The Atlantic staffer emphasizes that what he saw at the New York Young Republicans Club went way beyond ordinary conservative trolling.

"They don't just want policies," Breland warns, "and they're not just s---posting to provoke people online. They want their enemies to suffer, and they want to relish in their pain."

Breland notes that "revenge" was a recurring theme at the event.

Bannon told the crowd that Democrats and the mainstream media "need to learn what populist nationalist power is on the receiving end," adding, "We want retribution."

According to Breland, "The theme of the evening was revenge: During the forthcoming Trump Administration, various speakers said, there would be hell to pay. Enemies of the state would be arrested and put in jail, or deported. The intensity of McInnes' disdain for the media was an outlier, but only barely."

*Ali Breland's full article for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).

===

at mo

A Gala for Right-Wing Revenge

The mood that dominated an annual soiree for the New York Young Republicans: gleeful promises of retribution for Trump’s perceived enemies.

By Ali Breland

December 18, 2024,

Gavin McInnes, a co-founder of the Proud Boys, was extremely upset with me. He started listing things that I should feel (ashamed and terrible about myself) and that he wished would happen to me (trouble sleeping at night). “You should,” he told me gravely and slowly, as though he were about to give me some very important advice, “slit your wrists.”

The transgression I’d committed against him was being a journalist in his presence. I had just been introduced to McInnes at table 49 of the New York Young Republicans Club annual gala when he started laying into me. I hadn’t even had the chance to ask him any questions. Several minutes later, he got into an argument with a New York Times reporter, whose notebook he grabbed and surreptitiously passed to another guest before storming off.

I hadn’t come to get yelled at (though had I anticipated this happening). I’d done so because the event has become one of the most prominent gatherings in MAGA world, where fringe online trolls and members of far-right parties from across the world hang out with the GOP’s power brokers. Two prominent members of the incoming Trump administration—Dan Scavino Jr., soon to be the deputy chief of staff, and senior adviser Corey Lewandowski—spoke at the event. Donald Trump’s former attorney-general nominee, Matt Gaetz, milled around in the crowd. (After attending in person last year, Trump delivered remarks via phone this time around, in addition to a prerecorded video address in which he praised Gavin Wax, the club’s president.)

Ali Breland is a staff writer at The Atlantic.

What You Need To Know

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Donald Trump Jr. and other right-wing activists, commentators and politicians are attending a gala hosted by a Republican club in Manhattan Saturday

Among the headliners is Jack Posobiec, a far-right operative who the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as working with white nationalists and neo-Nazis

Members of an Austrian political party founded by a Nazi SS officer will also be in attendance

Event organizers are keeping the location secret and coordinating with the NYPD over concerns there will be protests

“It’s sort of an iconic event in a way that it brings all these people together, they’re able to communicate, they’re able to, you know, network, share experiences, contact with each other,” club president Gavin Wax said. “It’s sort of like a coming together of the minds and sort of an event of the year is how we like to push it, both for the club and for the movement at large.”

A City Hall spokesperson said in a statement that city officials are “monitoring the event for any alarming activity.” Wax said he is coordinating with the NYPD and event security in expectation of protests.

Ten members of the far-right Proud Boys group were arrested in Manhattan in 2018 following an attack on protestors outside the Metropolitan Republican Club. Wax was in attendance that night and witnessed the violence, later writing an article for a conservative website titled "We Are All Proud Boys Now."

Greene and Posobiec are headlining the event, which Wax says will be held in Midtown. Organizers are not revealing the precise location out of security concerns. The club’s invitationdescribes Greene as “a wife, mother and Christian nationalist patriot.” Posobiec, a former Navy officer-turned-conspiracy theorist, is one of the most prolific spreaders of misinformation in the country, critics said.

"I think you can safely argue that no single person is more responsible for spreading politically charged disinformation during the Trump era than Jack Posobiec," Southern Poverty Law Center senior investigative reporter Michael Edison Hayden told NY1. "He is unequivocally an extremist who has demonstrable ties to neo-Nazis, white nationalists and anti-government extremists."

Posobiec could not be reached for comment.

“We reject the framing and the accusations of the SPLC,” Wax said. “These are all sort of baseless accusations that are thrown ad nauseam at anyone who even dares to veer just slightly right of center.”

Among his long, well-documented – by researchers and journalists, including the SPLC – history of collaboration with white nationalists and antisemites, Posobiec notably worked with two Washington, D.C., brothers the SPLC identifies as neo-Nazis and whothe FBI alleged had ties to the man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018.

“There should be no legitimizing white supremacists or people who are associated with neo-Nazis, period,” Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said, citing rising numbers of antiseimitic incidents in the city. “This is a toxic environment where antisemitism is being mainstreamed. And it’s outrageous that the New York Young Republican Club is contributing to that.”

Along with Greene, three incoming Republican congressmen, Dutchess County legislator Ben Geller, incoming upstate Assemblyman Brian Maher, 2022 New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Giuliani, and a spate of Trump administration officials are featured guests. The younger Giuliani will serve as toastmaster, according to the gala invitation.

George Santos, an incoming member of Congress who will represent parts of Queens and Nassau counties, is listed as a guest. Santos, who attended the Jan. 6 rally near the U.S. Capitol, did not return requests for comment.

Representatives for state Republican Party chair Nick Langworthy and City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli did not respond to requests for comment.

An alliance with a party founded by Nazis

At least half a dozen European political figures will be in attendance, including two leading members of the Freedom Party of Austria, a far-right party founded by an SS officer in the aftermath of World War II as a political home for Austrian Nazis after the Nazi Party was banned.

“Historically, the Freedom Party can be described as a kind of a successor of the Nazi Party,” said Bernhard Weidinger, a visiting Fulbright Fellow at Northwestern University and a researcher tracking right-wing extremism at the Documentation Center of Austrian Resistance in Vienna. “They’re certainly not a neo-Nazi party right now. But they are a far-right party. And they have a long history of both racism and antisemitism, of xenophobia, of a systematic vilification of asylum seekers and refugees and other minorities.”

Both Austrian Jewish leaders and the government of Israel refuse to work with Freedom Party ministers when they are part of governing coalitions, which they have been on and off for the past two decades, Weidinger said.

Wax, who is Jewish, said he did not believe the Freedom Party holds bigoted views and pointed to their willingness to forge ties with the club, which has numerous Jewish members in leadership, as evidence of their modern-day tolerance.

“I think a lot of the same accusations that are leveled at them now could be leveled at the Republican Party, and those are usually baseless,” Wax said. “I think the German angle, the Austrian angle adds to the attacks, obviously, because, you know, you go back far enough, everyone in those countries were affiliated with Nazis at some point in history.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler, who in January will represent the neighborhood where the gala is being held, denounced the gathering.

“Antisemitic and far-right extremists have become central figures in the GOP. Even the former president is dining with known racists and antisemites,” Nadler said in a statement. “The event’s headliners have built brands on the backs of hatred and bigotry. The New York Young Republican Club–and national Republicans–should be ashamed. It’s dangerous and disgraceful, and New Yorkers deserve far better than this.”

---

splc

december 11, 2022

Hannah Gais and Michael Edison Hayden

A collection of radical right figures including white nationalists and ultranationalist European leaders gathered in Manhattan for the New York Young Republican Club’s (NYYRC) annual gala Saturday night, where that group’s president declared “total war” on perceived enemies.

“We want to cross the Rubicon. We want total war. We must be prepared to do battle in every arena. In the media. In the courtroom. At the ballot box. And in the streets,” NYYRC president Gavin Wax declared to a room full of supporters at 583 Park Ave., an event venue on New York’s Upper East Side.

“This is the only language the left understands. The language of pure and unadulterated power,” Wax added.

The white nationalists of VDARE snap a selfie with Steve Bannon at the NYYRC gala on Dec. 10. From left to right: Peter Brimelow, Steve Bannon, Lydia Brimelow. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

At the five-hour event, which Hatewatch reporters attended, white nationalists Peter and Lydia Brimelow of VDARE hobnobbed with Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser and White House official. Donald Trump Jr. was also in attendance.

Republicans publicly lauded members in attendance from an Austrian political party founded by World War II-era Nazi party members. Racist political operative Jack Posobiec shared jokes across a table with Josh Hammer, the opinion editor of Newsweek. Multiple recently elected GOP congresspeople applauded Marjorie Taylor Greene, who told the NYYRC crowd in the event’s closing remarks that the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol would have succeeded if she had planned it and that the insurrectionists would have been armed.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene talks with guests at the NYYRC gala on Dec. 10, 2022 in Manhattan. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

“Then Jan. 6 happened. And next thing you know, I organized the whole thing, along with Steve Bannon,” Greene said, referring to allegations that she had led reconnaissance tours of the Capitol for soon-to-be insurrectionists in the days prior to the violence.

“I will tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I organized that, we would have won,” she said, as attendees erupted in cheers and applause. “Not to mention, it would’ve been armed.”

WHITE NATIONALISTS AND NEOFASCISTS IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

Republican speakers repeatedly voiced an anti-democracy, authoritarian ideology, and extremists in the audience cheered wildly. White nationalists such as the Brimelows of VDARE and leaders from extreme far-right European parties like Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland, AfD), whom German officials placed under surveillance for their ties to extremism, and Austrian Freedom Party (Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ), ate and drank in the same room as newly elected Republican congresspeople, such as Long Island and Queens-based George Santos, Georgia-based Mike Collins and Florida-based Cory Mills.

• MORE NYYRC: Hungarian ambassador attends controversial Republican gathering

Hatewatch reached out to Santos and Mills by email before the event about their willingness to appear in a global collection of radical right, anti-democracy activists. They did not reply. Hatewatch reached out to Collins on Sunday morning but had not received a response at press time.

A STEVE BANNON SELFIE FOR VDARE

Bannon, the former Trump adviser, physically embraced the white nationalist Brimelows at NYYRC, spoke to the couple for several minutes and took a selfie with them. VDARE traffics in the great replacement conspiracy theory and has published defenses of writing a terrorist who gunned down 24 people in an El Paso Wal-Mart in 2019 allegedly authored. Peter Brimelow attended the white supremacist American Renaissance conference in November, whose host has portrayed Black people as being subhuman. The Brimelows publish writing authored by Jason Kessler, who helped organize the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

When Hatewatch attempted to speak to Lydia Brimelow after her conversation with Bannon to inquire about it, she walked away. Hatewatch did not get close enough to Bannon to ask him about the encounter with Peter and Lydia Brimelow.

‘PIZZAGATE’ JACK DESCENDS ON NEW YORK CITY

Jack and Tanya Posobiec arrive in New York City by train before the NYYRC meeting in Midtown on Dec. 10. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

Posobiec, a radical right political operative, resides with his wife Tanya Posobiec in Hanover, Maryland. The couple took Amtrak Northeast Regional train 88 into New York’s Penn Station Moynihan Hall on Saturday afternoon to get to the NYYRC gala. Train 88 pulled in at around 3:45 p.m., and a Hatewatch reporter observed Posobiec and his wife deboard and enter New York City.

“Antifa, don’t even think about it tonight,” Posobiec posted to Twitter three hours later, at 6:39 p.m., with the location of the tweet marked Manhattan, New York.

NYYRC gave Posobiec a speaking slot and an Allen W. Dulles award, named after the former head of the CIA. NYYRC said in its December bulletin that the award is given to “an individual who embodies the virulent anti-Marxist spirit of [Dulles].”

Like the Brimelows, Posobiec has a well-documented history of radical-right activism. He to the antigovernment Oath Keepers, fraternized with the Proud Boys, and at least twice, filmed propaganda videos with. He is primarily known for pushing the, which falsely suggested that Democrats ran a pedophile dungeon in the basement of a Washington, D.C., pizzeria.

Hatewatch spoke with Posobiec around midnight at the NYYRC event and asked him about his involvement in pushing the #StoptheSteal hashtag onto Twitter during the runup to the 2020 election. Although “Stop the Steal” became synonymous with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building, Posobiec started tweeting the hashtag from his over-1-million-follower account as early as Sept. 7, 2020, two full months before anyone tallied any votes.

While responding to Hatewatch at NYYRC, Posobiec first attempted to associate the hashtag with Roger Stone and then with Ali Alexander, two of his collaborators. Then he called it “a meme.” He never explained why he abruptly started posting the hashtag in September 2020.

While answering questions, Posobiec grew testy with a Hatewatch reporter and described SPLC as a “domestic terror organization.” Posobiec called that reporter a “scumbag” and a “troll.” After Posobiec’s speaking tone became palpably agitated, a crowd formed and NYYRC executive secretary Viswanag “Vish” Burra escorted both Hatewatch reporters to the exit, physically shoving one of them.

NEWSWEEK FLAUNTS ITS RADICAL-RIGHT CREDENTIALS

Newsweek editor Josh Hammer (in suspenders) texts from table #6, near the front of the stage, at the NYYRC gala on Dec. 10. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

Starting in May 2020, after editor Nancy Cooper and chief content officer Dayan Candappa brought political activist Josh Hammer to run *Newsweek*’s opinion section, the 90-year-old publication has emerged as a hub for opinion pieces authored by radical right activists. Newsweek has published the extremist Posobiec as well as 2020 election-lie pusher Raheem Kassam in recent years, and Hammer has also hosted both of them on his Newsweek-branded podcast. The three men sat together talking and laughing at table #6 during the NYYRC event, near the stage.

Newsweek contributor and disinformation peddler Raheem Kassam texts a selfie to someone at the NYYRC event on Dec. 10. Kassam sat at table #6 with Newsweek editor Josh Hammer and fellow Newsweek contributor Jack Posobiec. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

When QAnon influencer-turned-congressperson Marjorie Taylor Greene took the stage, Hammer stood up and applauded. When she endorsed former President Trump as her 2024 presidential candidate of choice, Posobiec turned to Hammer and grinned. In January, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis invited Hammer on a tour of his office, and the Florida-based Newsweek editor has since hyped DeSantis as a potential presidential candidate.

“You gonna go up there, Josh?” Posobiec chided Hammer about Greene’s endorsement of Trump, eliciting laughter from the table.

A Hatewatch reporter approached Hammer after Greene’s speech, made an introduction and asked if he knew Peter Brimelow of VDARE.

“He’s right here, right now?” Hammer asked with excitement.

“I didn’t even know he was here!” Hammer said of the infamous white nationalist publisher. “I’m going to say ‘Hi.’ ”

The Hatewatch reporter asked Hammer how he got his job at Newsweek, and the opinion editor abruptly stopped talking. He asked the reporter to identify himself again. When the reporter did, Hammer’s expression slackened. He quickly claimed he did not know Peter Brimelow and left.

‘WHAT’S RACIST ABOUT PROJECT VERITAS?’

Multiple figures associated with Project Veritas, the hard-right propaganda group that engages in sting operations, attended the NYYRC gala. The group’s founder James O’Keefe and Project Veritas board member Matthew Tyrmand hobnobbed with NYYRC guests Saturday.

Legal trouble has entangled Project Veritas in recent months. Former associates sued Project Veritas in August, citing the creation of a “highly sexualized” work environment, which they claim included substance abuse and unpaid labor. (The group has denied these allegations.) In September, a jury in a civil case found that Project Veritas had “violated wiretapping laws and fraudulently misrepresented itself” during a sting operation targeting a group called Democracy Partners. The FBI raided O’Keefe’s home in November 2021 as part of an investigation into the alleged theft of a diary belonging to President Joe Biden’s daughter Ashley. (The group has claimed that they acted lawfully in obtaining the diary.)

Outside of the building on 583 Park Ave., O’Keefe argued with antifascist protesters, according to footage reviewed by Hatewatch. A different, self-described “independent video journalist” posted a series of clips to Twitter at 8:15 p.m., showing O’Keefe asking antifascist protesters on the corner of Park Avenue and 62nd Street, “What’s racist about Project Veritas?”

The same social media user posted a video to Twitter at 9:12 p.m. In it, O’Keefe could be seen standing on the street outside the venue alongside several other men, including Newsweek’s Hammer.

“Would you like to make a tax-deductible donation to Project Veritas?” O’Keefe asked the protesters.

Rudy Giuliani (center) chats with guests alongside radical right activist Lucian Wintrich (left) at the NYYRC gala on Dec. 10. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

Hatewatch observed Project Veritas’s Tyrmand sitting at table #4, the one closest to the center of the stage, alongside Trump-world power players Steve Bannon and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. A recent *New York Times* report named Tyrmand and Bannon as key U.S. figures in an effort to depict Brazil’s November presidential elections as being fraudulent, after voters in that country pushed hard-right favorite Jair Bolsonaro out of office. Tyrmand, who is known for his ties to the global radical right, took the stage and lauded the ultranationalist European leaders in attendance.

“This is an all-star room, and I urge all of you to meet everybody here and continue to spend time together, getting to know each other, so we can fight the battle, arm in arm,” Tyrmand said of the European extremists, including the contingents from Austria and Germany.

ALMOST MIDNIGHT

Donald Trump Jr. addresses the NYYRC gala on Dec. 10 in Manhattan. (Photo by Michael Edison Hayden)

Speakers including Trump Jr. and Greene sought to downplay the Republicans’ failure to secure a so-called “red wave” victory in the 2022 midterms by attacking such familiar right-wing targets as Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden and LGBTQ+ people.

“The party is in a pretty good spot, but America may not be getting it. We have a party right now that is actually delivering for the American people. But what we don’t have [is] our same people in Washington, who can make those things happen,” Donald Trump Jr. told the crowd after he came on stage.

Greene suggested eliminating Democrat members of House committees in her closing speech, as a way of shifting the tide of power in Washington. She also told the audience it was “almost midnight,” meaning they risked losing their country to perceived enemies.

Greene praised a Project Veritas video focused on LGBTQ+ education published by the group, saying it shows that teachers “pass around dildos, butt plugs and lube.” (The school issued a statement claiming “[Project] Veritas deceptively edited the video with malicious intent.”)

Greene expressed her gratitude to Project Veritas for their work.

“Thank you very much. We appreciate that,” she said to scattered applause.

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aDAM KLASFELD / October 19, 2018

MANHATTAN (CN) – New York City police arrested two members of the far-right Proud Boys on Friday, a week after videos captured members of the group beating up protesters outside the official Manhattan club of the Republican Party.

Proud Boy Geoffrey Young, 38, was released on his own recognizance after being arraigned on two misdemeanor counts of riot in the second degree and attempted assault in the third degree.

A New York City police detective said that surveillance video caught Young punching and putting one person in a headlock, while kicking another person in the stomach.

A witness recorded Young kicking a third person three times in the head, police say.

The New York Daily News reported that police also arrested Jay Kinsman, who has not yet been arraigned, on Friday.

The arrests fall a full week after video captured the NYPD standing by as Proud Boy members attacked protesters outside the Upper East Side’s Manhattan Republican Club, which invited the group’s leader Gavin McInnes to reenact the samurai sword assassination of a Japanese socialist.

After that event, video captured Proud Boys participating in violence, but the NYPD arrested only three anti-fascist protesters that night.

New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, the Democratic nominee for state attorney general, pushed for police action the day after the violence.

"I am disturbed and disgusted by the videos I’ve seen of members of the neo-fascist, white supremacist Proud Boys group engaging in hate-fueled mob violence on the streets of New York City," James tweeted on Oct. 13. "New York will not become the next Charlottesville, and we refuse to let the actions of a hateful few define our city."

Legal Aid attorney Rebecca Kavanagh argued that the charges show the NYPD continues to treat the group with kid gloves.

“Why when video shows #ProudBoys stomping on person lying on ground in the fetal position is #NYPD planning only to charge them w/ Riot & Attempted Assault?” Kavanagh tweeted two days before the charges became public. “Riot is a Misdemeanor & I guarantee my clients would be charged w/ Gang Assault.”

The Daily News reported that police are looking for seven more Proud Boys and three anti-fascist protesters, widely known as Antifa.

In a press conference on Thursday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio suggested that both sides are complicating the investigation.

“You’ve got two factions, if you will, that unfortunately both seem to engage in violence at times and don’t want to cooperate with the police,” de Blasio told reporters. “That makes this more complicated.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo refused to draw equivalencies between the groups.

“The Proud Boys are a hate group,” Cuomo told WCBS this morning. “They are a white supremacist group, anti-women group and there was violence after they brought the Proud Boys and they brought them to the Republican headquarters.”

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nation mag

no lnx pix

POLITICS / AUGUST 29, 2023

The War Within the Young Republican Party

At the Young Republican National Convention, far-right figures made few inroads—but they did read my Nation investigation.

AMANDA MOORE

Gavin Wax, president of the New York Young Republican Club, speaks to members of the media during a rally outside the New York County Criminal Court in New York City on Monday, March 20, 2023.

On August 19, The Nation released my article to subscribers detailing some of what I saw during my 11 months undercover in far-right circles. By chance, the article’s publication coincided with the Young Republican National Convention in Dallas, Tex., an event I had long planned to cover. I knew that Gavin Wax, one of the figures mentioned in the piece, would also be there in his role as the president of the New York Young Republican Club.

During the convention, my investigation was only available to subscribers—it wasn’t pushed in front of the hard paywall until Tuesday, August 22, so I figured no one would read it at the Omni Dallas Hotel. After all, how many subscribers to The Nation could possibly be at a Young Republican event?

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On Saturday morning, Wax greeted me with an over-the-top hello and a joke about the far right taking over. I had written about Wax twice before, and one of those times he worked to mass report both my Twitter account and my editor’s in retaliation for my coverage of him. I assumed his sarcastic acknowledgment was related to my prior work. By that night, things changed.

Saturday evening was the National Awards Gala. After the event, I ran into Wax in the hallway. The NYYRC and New York State Young Republican Club had won an award for outstanding recruitment, which Wax was holding. Wax and Chelsea Hall, the NYYRC’s communications director, announced that Wax had won an award, and told me I should write about that next time. Not realizing they had read the undercover piece, I was confused. I congratulated Wax on doing such a good job. “He did do a good job,” Hall yelled, and I promised to mention the award next time I wrote about him. (Promise kept.)

I made my way over to a group of Young Republicans who were aware that I was a journalist. NYYRC Vice President Nathan Berger walked up to us, and aggressively asked who I was and why I was there. At that moment, I couldn’t place his face, though I was pretty sure he was a member of NYYRC.

“Do you know Gavin Wax? I’m a journalist, and I write about him,” I said, then told Berger he looked familiar. He assured me that I didn’t. Someone asked what club he was from, and when he said New York, one gestured to me and said that he must know who I was.

Berger snapped that he did not know me, then immediately announced that I had just written a piece for The Nation, and everyone should read it.

“Sounds like you know who she is!” someone replied to Berger.

Uncomfortable with Berger’s temper and bizarre confrontation style, we made our way downstairs, where we ran into Wax and Hall. Wax began yelling at the person next to me, screaming that I was antifa and demanding to know why he was talking to me. This was a Young Republican event, he said, and I was not a Republican. “Did you know that she’s antifa?” he asked.

The YR being yelled at told Wax that he didn’t know who he was, but his angry, loud demeanor did not make him seem particularly credible. Wax announced that I was secretly recording everything everyone said to me, and it dawned on me that I probably should record this interaction. When I pulled out my phone, Hall pointed out what I was doing.

“Yeah, I know that she’s recording,” Wax replied. “And I love that you admitted that you committed multiple felonies in Florida.”

When I countered that the places were public—or at least not venues where you’d have an expectation of privacy—Wax smirked. “OK, you can argue that in court. I cannot wait for the arrest warrants.” He turned back to the YR who was talking to me. “But anyway! Good luck, she’s recording everything you’re doing, and have the best time here.”

While Wax was happy to cause a scene, most of the YRs just avoided me, though a few were willing to talk. Wax is brash and aggressive on Twitter, and he will leverage his followers against outspoken YRs whom he considers RINOs. At YRNC, that brutish, Trumpian approach to politics was not the norm. Multiple people who heard Wax confront me apologized for his behavior later.

As with the larger GOP, Donald Trump has divided the YRNF. On August 19, the YRs voted on their new national leadership. There were two coalitions to choose from: the more moderate Grow YR and Ascend, who largely represented the MAGA wing of the YRs. (A representative from Ascend told me the group does not want to make YRNF a MAGA populist organization, though nearly every person I talked to supporting Grow disagreed.)

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Grow’s candidate for national chair was Hayden Padgett of the Texas Young Republicans. In 2020, Padgett released a video saying that George Floyd was murdered and that Black lives matter. Padgett’s message in the 2020 video was not an endorsement of the Black Lives Matter protest movement but of the idea that everyone is created equally and in God’s image.

Some of his detractors spent a year and half using the video to discredit him, even buying the URL www.haydenpadgett.com and redirecting it to a clip of him acknowledging anti-Black racism.

But the campaign didn’t work, and Padgett won with overwhelming support, pulling in 575 votes to his opponent’s 127. As it turns out, the Trumpian wing of YRNF does not have the same pull within the organization that they have on social media.

Kari Lake was the keynote speaker for the awards gala, and there had been rumors of a walkout. And when she went up to speak, a few people did leave the room. Some YRs complained about her lies over the election. One person said they didn’t want to hear about Ukraine, saying that Ukrainian immigrants in their district were reliable Republican voters and that the US was right to defend the country’s sovereignty.

The last day of the convention, the Texas YRs de-federated the Dallas Young Republicans, removing the chapter from Texas Young Republican Federation and stripping them of the right to use the Texas Young Republican name. The Dallas YRs have a reputation for being “based,” which in this context means they embody some of the worst characteristics of Trumpian politics. The group’s chair, for instance, has an event next month featuring John Doyle, who planned a Stop the Steal rally with Nick Fuentes and is a proud Christian nationalist.

“The Dallas YRs were removed, because they have refused to engage with the parent organization for a very long time,” said Matt Wiltshire, the YRNF’s finance director. “They don’t talk to us or communicate. They have not cared about rules for years. They allow expelled Texas YRs to attend their events.” (Dallas YRs have since spent their time on Twitter, insisting they quit before they were voted out.)

The Texas YRs also voted to separate themselves from the Republican Party of Texas, due to their strained relationship with Matt Rinaldi, the Texas GOP chairman. In the lead-up to the election, Rinaldi refused to endorse Padgett, a fellow Texan who was almost unanimously supported by the Texas YRs, or even to remain uninvolved. Instead, Rinaldi endorsed Padgett’s more MAGA opponent, whose brand of Republicanism was more in line with his own.

“Rinaldi came to the convention not to spend time with the Texas YRs, but to go to the New York State Young Republican meeting,” Wiltshire explained. The meeting had “people who have been cruel to many members of our organization,” and Rinadli went “in order to disparage the Texas YRs and Hayden.”

Just before the cote, a representative from Ascend had told me, “Even though it’s the last thing we want, I assume there will be splinter organizations. This could be the last large YRNF convention ever.” This may already be playing out.

On Sunday, the Rockwall County YRs voted to leave the Texas Young Republican Federation, citing TYRF’s decision to end their partnership with the Republican Party of Texas. Like Dallas, Rockwall has a reputation for being a based club, one that is not in lockstep with TYRF’s leadership. In their release, they wrote that they “are proud to form a coalition with the Dallas Young Republicans.”

While the MAGA populists might often be the loudest voices from YRNF, they appear to be losing the internal struggle for power. Much like within the GOP, the rift over is likely to grow wider and deeper in the lead-up to the 2024 election.

Amanda Moore is a writer and researcher who focuses on far-right extremism.

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ref nation mag

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/undercover-maga-alt-right/

no lnx 8 23

Undercover With the New Alt-Right

For 11 months, I pretended to be a far-right extremist. I discovered a radical youth movement trying to infiltrate the Republican Party.

AMANDA MOORE

Infiltrating MAGA: From left to right, Amanda Moore poses with right-wing activist Laura Loomer; Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Flynn; Mike Lindell, the CEO of My Pillow; and her undercover mic set up. (Courtesy of Amanda Moore)

This article appears in the September 4/11, 2023 issue.

Going to a Proud Boys riot with a neo-Nazi is not something I ever expected to do. But in August 2021, I found myself driving through downtown Portland, Ore., with an avowed white supremacist named Alex Nelson. We were on our way to the abandoned K-Mart parking lot that the Proud Boys had commandeered for their “Summer of Love” rally. The event marked the one-year anniversary of a “Back the Blue” demonstration that had become a brawl between the Proud Boys and militias on one side and anti-fascist counter-protesters on the other.

Earlier that week, Nelson, a man in his late 20s who was fond of discussing his “Anglo heritage,” had invited me to join him to watch what he assumed would be violent clashes. “Portland has canceled all parades and markets for the past year and a half. This is the only culture in Portland now. There will probably be a thousand spectators or more lining the bridges and sidewalks,” he assured me.

By then, I had been undercover with the far right for nine months, motivated by my belief that the fascist threat to the country was misunderstood by much of the press and far more dangerous than what was being reported. At first, I had planned only to sell the audio from “Stop the Steal” rallies to a podcast and write a couple of blog posts. But I found myself wanting to get a behind-the-scenes look at the far-right movement—to go to events from which the press was barred and observe extremists when they felt they were in their “safe space”—so the project grew into something far bigger: a long-term infiltration of the network of young white nationalists in America.