Far-right activist Nick Fuentes has claimed that his supporters, known as “groypers,” are now “in every department” of the US government.
Fuentes, described as a “white nationalist” in court documents, commented just days after it was revealed that members of Young Republicans groups across the country had been sharing explicitly racist messages on Telegram.
Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of his podcast, America First, Fuentes claimed that he even has supporters at America’s most prestigious universities.
“But groypers are all over the government, and everyone knows that,” he bragged. “There's groypers at Harvard; there's groypers in all the Ivy League schools. I talked to all of them.
“There's groypers in government, there's groypers in every department, every agency, OK?”
However, despite his alleged popularity across the country, he urged his fans to never put their support for him in writing.
“But if you are in the Young Republicans, and I'm speaking to you, if you're in College Republicans, if you are in the administration, if you're in a high position, you can't be putting this in writing. You can't,” he said.
Fuentes also alleged that the Young Republicans scandal was an “operation” designed to “roll back” growing support for his position.
The Young Republicans scandal was exposed earlier this week by Politico. The outlet uncovered countless messages shared by members of the conservative youth group.
“Great. I love Hitler,” one member allegedly wrote.
“Kick the b****,” wrote another.
Other messages included threats to send opponents to a “gas chamber,” as well as homophobic and racial slurs.
The vice-chair of the organization’s Kansas branch, William Hendrix, was found to have used variations of a racial slur twelve times.
Bobby Walker, vice-chair of the New York State branch, allegedly described rape as “epic.”
Peter Guinta, head of the New York State branch, even allegedly threatened to torture his opponents.
“Im going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man,” he allegedly wrote. “We only want true believers.”
The shocking messages were sent initially on Telegram before Politico obtained them.
However, JD Vance has downplayed the messages by claiming that they were just an example of “what kids do.”
“The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys,” Vance said on a new episode of the Charlie Kirk Show. “They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do.
“And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke – telling a very offensive, stupid joke – is cause to ruin their lives.”
Late-night show host Stephen Colbert shredded Vance’s comments.
“It’s true, when I was in the Cub Scouts, about ten years old, me and my troop invaded Poland,” Colbert joked.
“One problem with Vance’s logic here about the young boys…,” he continued. “Despite their name, Young Republicans, to be a member of the group, you have to be at least 18, and some members are up to 40 years old.”
Meanwhile, Fuentes has continued to urge supporters with similar views to remain covert.
“You're not hiding your power level if you're in a group chat with hundreds of people saying we're going to put people in gas chambers. OK, guys?,” he said on America First.
“Now I know it's funny, and I joke around like that on my show, and I'm very cavalier about it, and maybe I'm setting a bad example.”
The far-right influencer became infamous after he first launched his podcast in 2017 and continued to grow his fanbase when he clashed with the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The two rival influencers regularly fought on social media, with fans eventually dubbing their conflict as the “Groyper War.”
Fuentes and Kanye West, who has previously praised Hitler, had a private dinner with Donald Trump, although Fuentes has since branded the president as a “scam artist” for failing to release the Epstein files.