A man spouting Nazi slogans disrupted a Donald Trump rally on Wednesday evening, but Trump supporters shouted him down and eventually escorted him out of the Reno, Nevada rally.
The man, who claimed to be 25-years-old and identified himself to CNN and other sources as Brady Garrett, arrived at the rally wearing a camouflage baseball cap and a seemingly brand new “State of Jefferson” T-Shirt. He carried small signs with supposed white supremacist slogans on them, and was quickly surrounded by members of the media excited to report on the incident.
Neo Nazi at Trump rally pic.twitter.com/4TeOg5PpDp
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 6, 2016
However, David Martosko of the Daily Mail was skeptical, noting that the man had behaved in a “suspicious” manner:
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) October 6, 2016
“Pepé” (sic) is likely a reference to Pepe the Frog, the “alt-right” meme that has been classified as a “hate symbol” by the ADL.
@joelpollak I’m suspicious of this person. He seemed to want to be spotted and played to the cameras.
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) October 6, 2016
I fully expected 50+ reporters to swarm around the neo-Nazi tonight. It’s what many of them are looking for.
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) October 6, 2016
The man reportedly began spouting racist rhetoric and told reporters he was fine with Ivanka Trump being Jewish, but then insisted Hitler’s Nazis did not kill six million Jews during the Holocaust in World War Two, according to reports.
This man claimed to be a 25-year-old from Sacramento. Said he’s okay w/ Ivanka being Jewish but refused to believe Nazis killed 6 million https://t.co/OKZQ2NXJzh
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 6, 2016
Several reporters present during the interruption noted that the man was shouted down and harried by Trump’s supporters to leave the rally.
The gratifying thing, and I’d say this no matter who the candidate was, is that Trump’s supporters shouted the Nazi down and humiliated him.
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) October 6, 2016
He was shouted down by Trump supporters after and was escorted out. https://t.co/nUcpOsICA6
— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) October 6, 2016
“You’re not speaking the truth for us!” A Trump supporter shouts down alt-right man in Reno. pic.twitter.com/67Y5O1wDzI
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) October 6, 2016
It is unclear at this time if the man is connected to any neo-Nazi groups. He wore a “State of Jefferson” t-shirt, referring to a movement among several northern California counties to secede from the state. However, that movement has not been connected to extremism. One of its members, who was present at the Trump rally, told CNN: “We do not support that garbage at all.”
CNN reported that the man himself had “confirmed” that he was a “neo-Nazi.” However, suspected left-wing plants and provocateurs have been spotted in recent years at Tea Party events and, lately, at Trump rallies.
Last month, outside a rally in Asheville, North Carolina, a woman wearing an oxygen mask and protesting against Trump claimed she had been punched in the jaw by a Trump supporter. As Breitbart News reported, video of the altercation makes clear that the woman pursued the Trump supporter (in spite of her oxygen mask) and likely touched him first before the man, who has poor vision due to cataracts, turned around. He may have knocked her down by accident; his attorney told Breitbart News he was innocent and was considering a defamation lawsuit against the woman. She showed no visible signs of injury.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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