Nick Fuentes Hung Out With a Prominent Texas Donor for 7 Hours

Nick Fuentes likes to call himself the “most canceled man in America.” He attended the neo-Nazi Unite the Right rally, praises Hitler, denies the Holocaust, has vowed “holy war” against Jews, explicitly promotes white supremacy, says rape is “so not a big deal.” 

And yet, somehow, he still manages to keep company in influential political circles. 

Most recently: On Friday, Fuentes spent 7 hours with Jonathan Stickland, a former state representative turned major political donor who leads Defend Texas Liberty PAC and heads a prominent consulting firm Pale Horse Strategies, The Texas Tribune reported. 

A reporter from The Tribune saw Fuentes and others, including Kyle Rittenhouse (the conservative folk hero who was acquitted of homicide after he gunned down two men at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest) enter the one-story Pale Horse Strategies office near Fort Worth. Texas Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi was seen entering the building, but was there to attend a different meeting, a spokesperson for his office told VICE News. Chris Russo, head of Texans for Strong Borders, a hardline anti-immigration group, also attended the meeting—and drove Fuentes to and from it. 

Stickland’s dalliance with Fuentes kicked off a major firestorm within the Texas GOP. House Speaker Dade Phelan put out a blistering statement calling on his colleagues, including Lt. Gov Dan Patrick, to return the millions of dollars that they’ve received from Defend Texas Liberty PAC. 

“This is not just a casual misstep,” Phelan said. “It’s indicative of the moral, political rot that has been festering in a certain segment of our party for far too long. Anti-Semitism, bigotry and Hitler apologists should find no sanctuary in the Republican party.”

Fuentes has made no secret of his goal to gain a foothold in the Republican party, via his organization America First and army of followers known as “groypers,” and push his white nationalist and antisemitic views into the mainstream. 

If you have any information about Nick Fuentes or groypers? Feel free to reach out by email tess.owen@vice.com, wire @tesstess or contact for Signal details.

“If we can drag over the furthest part of the Right further to the Right, and we can drag the Center further to the Right, and we can drag the Left further to the Right, then we’re winning,” he said in a 2021 livestream, according to Political Research Associates. 

Fuentes appeared to fly a little too close to the sun last year, after disgraced rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, brought him to dinner with ex-president Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Fuentes then joined Ye in a string of widely-publicized, disastrous media appearances in which the pair giggled and expressed their love for Hitler and the Nazis. Until then, Fuentes had somehow managed to maintain a veneer of legitimacy within far-right political circles; members of congress including Reps. Paul Gosar and Marjorie Taylor Greene even spoke at conferences he hosted. 

But the high-profile antisemitic media tour forced his political allies to publicly condemn him—a sign that his brand had become too toxic for even the most fringe elements of the Republican party. On Wednesday, CNN anchor John Berman asked presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “if Republicans should be eating with Nick Fuentes.” “I would not do that,” DeSantis responded. 

Defend Texas Liberty PAC, which proudly describes itself as “the most hated PAC by sellout Republicans in the Lone Star State,” released a statement on Monday afternoon saying that they “reject Speaker Phelan’s effort to combine Defend Texas Liberty PAC with Nick Fuentes.”

“We oppose Mr. Fuentes’ incendiary views,” it added. The group did not respond to a VICE News request for further comment, or questions about the nature of the meeting between Stickland and Fuentes. 

The conflict that erupted in Israel and Palestine over the weekend has turned the Texas GOP’s toxic situation even nastier. Phelan also said that any of his colleagues who don’t reject the support of Defend Texas Liberty PAC are betraying the Republican Party’s position of supporting Israel. 

“The Republican Party, at its core, champions freedom, democracy, and shared values with nations like Israel,” he said. “Every single elected official or candidate who has received funding from the Defend Texas Liberty PAC must publicly disavow their toxic affiliation.”

Patrick clapped back, saying Phelan had “hit rock bottom” by attempting to draw a connection between the situation in the Middle East and support from Defend Texas Liberty PAC. “His latest political stunt is disgusting, despicable, and disingenuous,” Patrick said. “I am calling on Dade Phelan to resign his position before the House gavels in this afternoon.” Phelan has not resigned.

Patrick also disavowed Fuentes, saying he and “his antisemitic rhetoric have no place in the United States.” 

While the tussle between Patrick and Phelan continues, some Texas lawmakers are scrambling to distance themselves from Defend Texas Liberty. Rep. Jared Patterson says he received $2,500 to his campaign from that PAC, and this week donated that entire amount to Friends of Israel Defense Forces. 

Fuentes did not respond to VICE News’ request for comment. 

Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Texas Republican Party Chairman Matt Rinaldi briefly attended the meeting with Fuentes. A spokesperson for the Texas GOP has since clarified that Rinaldi was briefly in the building for a different meeting.