On Tuesday morning, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz posted an odd video on Twitter along with the comment, "If anyone asks me about Nick Fuentes today, this is my answer in advance." That answer boiled down to the suggestion that Fuentes is no more politically radical than the Rev. Al Sharpton, that he's faced significant persecution for his beliefs and that if conservatives don't defend Fuentes, they're effectively supporting the Orwellian prosecution of "thought crimes."
So who is Nick Fuentes, who has become abruptly more famous in recent days? He is the young, extravagantly racist, antisemitic and misogynistic head of the white nationalist America First movement, whose members call themselves "groypers" in an obscure homage to alt-right mascot Pepe the Frog. Over the last week, Fuentes has made headlines for his role atop the third annual America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), a meetup held last Friday in Orlando as a far-right alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), which concluded Sunday.
