Idaho Lt. Gov. McGeachin speech played at conference organized by white nationalist
Idaho Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial candidate Janice McGeachin participated in a far-right conference organized by a well-known white nationalist late Friday night.
Called the America First Political Action Conference, the gathering held in Orlando was organized by Nick Fuentes, a political commentator who has supported Russia’s authoritarian leader, voiced support for preserving American white identity and been labeled a “white supremacist” by an FBI agent.
In a speech from McGeachin that was played at the conference, part of which was posted on Twitter by researcher Ben Lorber, McGeachin said that conservatives are “literally in the fight for our lives” within the Republican Party.
“I thank you all for your efforts, I thank you for joining our efforts, and together we will fight to make Idaho great again,” she said in a video appearance.
Spokespeople for McGeachin didn’t respond to the Idaho Statesman’s requests for comment Saturday. But in a released statement on social media, McGeachin blamed the media for accusing conservatives “of believing everything ever said by anyone with whom they share a stage.”
McGeachin said she was invited to submit a video to the conference.
“I do not and have never supported identity politics or other discriminatory views that only seek to divide us and not unite us,” the statement said. “Anyone who actually listens to what I say or who pays attention to what I’ve done in my many years of service knows this is true.”
On Saturday, Take Back Idaho, a recently formed political action committee, called for McGeachin’s resignation following her appearance at the conference.
“The fact that McGeachin didn’t announce or mention the speech to her constituents shows she knows enough about AFPAC’s extremist leadership and followers to know Idahoans would not approve,” the group said in an emailed statement. “Her secrecy, hypocrisy, and lack of moral character should now be crystal-clear to all Idahoans: She’s unfit to hold her current office, and certainly should not be one heartbeat away from the governor’s office.”
The group added, “McGeachin’s participation in AFPAC shows that she is openly courting the most extreme fringes of society — including QAnon conspiracy theorists, January 6 insurrectionists, white nationalists and Holocaust deniers — on a national stage.”
Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad, a Democratic candidate for governor, said McGeachin “does not speak for Idahoans” and urged Gov. Brad Little to forcefully stand up to “the extreme white nationalist and anti-semitic elements in his party.”
“We are battling for the heart and soul of Idaho against extremists that do not represent Idaho values,” Rognstad said.
A spokesperson for Gov. Brad Little did not immediately respond Saturday afternoon to a request for comment.
Nick Fuentes says he’s ‘rooting for Russia’
In an affidavit supporting a criminal complaint against an attendee of the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, Fuentes is referred to as a “white supremacist.”
“You know what I want? Total Aryan victory. That’s all I want,” Fuentes said in a livestream video aired this month. He also called himself a “misogynist,” compared himself to Adolf Hitler and “jokingly” denied the Holocaust, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Fuentes has also labeled the U.S. a Christian nation, specifying that it is not Jewish, and has endorsed the right-wing conspiracy theory that forces in the world are attempting to perpetrate a “white genocide,” according to the ADL. He and his supporters call themselves “groypers,” and he has maintained that whiteness is central to American identity, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Fuentes has previously said the U.S. should preserve its “white demographic core.”
The Associated Press defines white nationalists as those who believe in enhanced legal rights or protections for white people, or advocate for a separate territory for white people.
Fuentes has previously claimed he is not a white supremacist, according to the ADL. An attempt by the Idaho Statesman to reach him Saturday was unsuccessful.
In previous videos, Fuentes has also called “transgenderism” and same-sex marriage “deviancy,” according to the Washington Post.
On Wednesday, Fuentes said “I wish Putin was president of America,” hours before the Russian military invaded Ukraine, according to Vice News.
“I am totally rooting for Russia,” he wrote on Telegram, a social media platform. “This is the coolest thing to happen since 1/6,” referring to the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riot.
Last month, Fuentes was subpoenaed by the U.S. House committee that is investigating the attack for his role in the day’s events. The commentator also participated in “Stop the Steal” rallies to support former President Donald Trump’s false claims that election fraud led to President Joe Biden’s win in 2020.
“Now they’re going on about Russia, and Vladimir Putin is Hitler,” Fuentes said at the conference this weekend. “They say that’s not a good thing.”
Moments later, he added, “I shouldn’t have said that.”
Other guest speakers at the third annual event included U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Florida, and far-right figures Gavin McInnes, Milo Yiannopoulos and Michelle Malkin, a political commentator with white supremacist ties who recently endorsed McGeachin in her bid for governor of Idaho. Trump has also endorsed McGeachin.
Since her speech, Taylor Greene has faced demands from the Democratic National Committee that she be expelled from the Republican caucus in the House of Representatives.
U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming, tweeted that “silence by Republican Party leaders is deafening and enabling.”
“All Americans should renounce this garbage and reject the Putin wing of the GOP now,” she wrote.
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 3:48 PM.
