Home Tech Far-right extremists are acting as emergency workers in Los Angeles

Far-right extremists are acting as emergency workers in Los Angeles

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Far-right extremists are acting as emergency workers in Los Angeles

Extremists, including white supremacists and border live streamers, have descended on Los Angeles amid the wildfires to gain followers, drive social media engagement, solicit donations and, experts say, recruit new members, while who in some cases do LARP as emergency workers.

Last weekend, Ryan Sánchez and three other members of his Red Nacionalista group set up shop at the entrance to the Santa Monica Pier. Sánchez, who was Caught on video giving the Nazi salute during last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and his team had driven overnight from Arizona, where they live.

Sanchez, who was a member of the now-defunct white supremacist fight club known as Rise above the movementHe is an ally of white supremacist Nick Fuentes and is sometimes known online by his nickname “Culture War Criminal.”

Sanchez, who did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment, claims on his social media accounts that his group “received much more support than anticipated” and said all donations were given to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, a building said to be which is housing veterans, as well as charities involved in military and veterans affairs. (He did not respond to a request to confirm that Sánchez’s group made donations.)

While Sánchez and his colleagues claim they are in Los Angeles to do good, experts who track the activities of far-right groups tell WIRED that what they are really doing is “disaster tourism” to promote their own agenda. apparently they do good for society. .

“Based on many of their past activities, this is probably being used as a recruitment effort, which is something that has been happening a lot more over the last year, where far-right groups engage in disaster tourism,” says Freddy Cruz, the program. monitoring and training manager at Western States Center. “We saw it with Hurricane Helene and now we are seeing it again. “Basically, these groups simply travel to disaster areas to create propaganda, solicit donations, and in some cases steal donations from people on the ground.”

On Monday, Sanchez said that while his group was no longer collecting goods for the relief effort, it was still interested in meeting potential new recruits.

“Tomorrow we will not accept any more donations, but if you are still interested in volunteering, please contact us,” Sánchez wrote on Telegram and X on Sunday morning.

A donation link Sánchez posted on his Telegram channel links directly to his personal Cash App account, and it’s unclear where the donated money was going, although Sánchez suggested it was being used to fund his group’s travel and accommodation. .

“The crisis in Los Angeles continues and strong winds are expected in the coming days. Thanks to your support, the Nationalist Network will be here for our fellow Americans,” Sánchez wrote on his Telegram and X accounts on Monday, before asking for more donations “if you want to help keep our activists fed and in the fight.”

In addition to Sánchez and the Nationalist Network, several MAGA live streamers have traveled to Los Angeles in recent days to begin posting content about the aftermath of the fires while also soliciting money from their followers.

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