How a Violent Alt-Light "Hero" Turned His Back on Neo-Nazis

Recently, in my "spare time" (such that it is), I have been researching several interrelated topics, including the apparent rise in political violence and the co-opting of support for President Trump by the "Alt-Right," the emerging "Alt-Lite," and various hate groups. I plan to post about what I find in due course but I came across a story today that possessed several qualities that made it best suited to stand alone in its own thread.

A lot of the research I've been doing entails looking at videos and still images from protests, marches and rallies — something I did a lot of late last year. In particular, my focus has once more been on the violent conflicts that I feel clearly presaged the events thousands of miles away in Charlottesville.

One figure that's been hard to miss — even among the throngs of screaming hooligans — was dubbed "Based Spartan" by online fans of these not-quite-but-not-far-from-it-Gangs-of-New-York-style fight club melees. Ready-made for meme'ing, tall and burly, he came to do battle, costumed in a plastic Spartan helmet and American flag shorts.

Here's a video glorifying the former "Based Spartan" (his ex-allies have a whole host of new nicknames now) following the "Battle for Berkeley" :



But according to John "Based Spartan" Turano (aka "Pat Washington"), a 40-something single father from the LA area, an encounter with a protester at a June 4th "free speech" rally in Portland's Terry Shrunk Plaza, organized by Joey Gibson (Patriot Prlayer), caused him to have a change of heart and open his eyes to some of the people with whom he'd found himself associating.

Fascism on the rise: Portland extremists reveal themselves

Turano said he’s never been a political person. He has only voted once in his life, and that was for President Trump. Turano said he disagrees with the president on immigration and women’s rights issues.

Turano said he used to think all antifa “hated our guts” and intended to protest violently. When Turano came to Portland on June 4, however, he said a petite Jewish counter-protester came up to him and asked, “Does my life matter?”

“It just made me feel bad,” Turano said. “I hadn’t really been paying attention; I just thought we were surrounded by all these people who hated us. But I met some people that seemed so nice.” Turano added that in his state of mind when he attended the Berkeley protest, he thought “these [antifa] people hate America.”

Turano said as a single, working father, he did not have time to sit behind a computer screen and follow the alt-right. When Turano began to see swastikas at these protests and racial slurs on the internet, however, he came to understand how the “other side” saw “patriots.”

“Racist ain’t too far from the truth,” Turano declared.

Being Based Spartan gave Turano a rush, but he said he now feels the patriot movement only “loved me because they thought I was violent and I looked threatening and intimidating.” Turano added, “People emailed me to tell me I helped these ‘idiot’ groups grow, and I’m responsible for making it a family idea. I made a horrible mistake. I don’t like bullies.”

The following week, he showed up at another of Gibson's events and this time, he had a new message. As he explains to photographer/videographer Shuttershot45 (who has a lot of interesting connections of his own) in this YouTube video entitled, The return of Based Spartan Man? Impeachment March, Los Angeles:



My hastily composed partial transcript of the first part:

I'm gonna to be honest. Most patriots — most patriots, I want to clarify this — most patriots are not Nazis. But you know what, when we stand next to 'em, who are we? And I think we're collaborators of hate and I don't need another man — today's message is I can stand alone and be an American and be for Trump and I don't need to stand next to Nazis, where I can feel secure. I don't need to stand behind a line. and these people — like, I can say most of those people are probably great people — but how great are you when the guy next to you is a Nazi and you won't tell him to leave.

Like, my family, like my whole family is Latino — on my wife's side — my kids and all my friends and you know they hated on a black today. It's a representation of the United States — a whole family man — and I don't see why they think it's so disrespectful that — I just — I love Trump. And last time they told me I was wrong. I stood on the wrong side. This time they wouldn't even let me in. They said, "oh he can't be in there." So now I'm on this side, and I'm still loving Trump.

He's not the most eloquent speaker but then again, neither is President Trump and yet, he finds a way to connect with people, so maybe with enough folks like him and some Oath Keepers sounding the alarm, they can push out the neo-Nazis who have insidiously infiltrated Trump support.

He's something of a character. He himself married an undocumented immigrant and has two children, one of them an adult daughter who can often be seen standing next to her father in her pink Trump hat, chanting along. He also has a "White Pride" tattoo on his bicep that he picked up during a stint in jail in his youth (for protection he says). Asked by the reporter if he intended to remove him, he said that he did not as he didn't see a problem having pride in their race.

And if you're wondering exactly who he was standing next to when he says Nazis, here he is with two members of a neo-Nazi fight club called "DIY Division" (renamed to "Rise Above Movement").



Not surprisingly, the neo-Nazis aren't happy about his "defection" to "the other side" and he's been accused of being an "Antifa plant" and a "Soros plant." A little later in the above video (6:24), you can see Based Stickman's buddy, Luke "Based Skywalker" Dennis (in Captain America tee, of "Last Revolution Media") and (apparently former — seems he was kicked out) Proud Boy, Juan "Johnny Benitez" Cadavid, who has an interesting backstory of his own.

Both of these men fought with Turano, at the "Battle of Berkeley," alongside Nathan Damigo, his Identity Evropa pukes and various other white nationalist/neo-Nazis groups, including the young thugs lined up to their left.

As the camera pans down the line (at 7:39), we get to the Nazi punks. We have what would appear to be a good chunk of the DIY Division crew (which has rebranded itself "Rise Above Movement" or R.A.M.), whose members include known Hammerskins, a group that typifies what most people probably think of when they think "neo-Nazi."

Looks like, at least as of late July, these racist thugs were as embedded as ever.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE RACIST IDIOT FOR SEEING THE ERROR OF HIS WAYS.

That's certainly more than Obama and Hillary did.

Here is a US President openly collaborating with a Grand Wizard of the KKK.

Just goes to show the importance of dialogue. Had he been unable to speak on his beliefs, he would still be an idiot racist. Good for him for finally growing up. Amazing how different the world can be when you get out and participate, no?

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Robert Byrd was certainly in the Klan. He was never a Grand Wizard though. Do you have any proof that when Robert Byrd quit and disavowed the Klan half a century ago, he wasn't sincere?

You don't believe that people can change?

More importantly, what's your inaccurate meme got to do with the topic? Obama isn't President. Robert Byrd has been dead for what, 7 years? Hell, this thread was even about Trump and you feel the need to derail it with BS.

Lmao.

He was at Berkeley yelling as many slurs as he said others were using, he kept saying he wanted to "Kill Antifa" using homophobic and racists slurs, and he has white Pride tattooed on his arms, regardless of what he thinks now, he can't play the innocent victim.

Also, Rise Above Movement is a neo-nazi fight club group, they were at Berkeley, San Bernadino, and some other events here in Southern California, they also went to Charlottesville

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

You can't hold a debate using bumper-stickers.

And that bumper-sticker is wrong. Sen Robert Byrd, the man on the right, quit the KKK in the late 1940s/early 1950s. He endorsed Obama in 2008. His history as a white supremacist was brief, and he regretted it in public on several occasions, urging other angry young men not to make the same mistake.

So really, the propaganda you're copypasting here only goes to show that racists in both political parties can redeem themselves. Which fits nicely with the theme of the thread.

(Do you really think Obama, a man who identifies as black, would actually endorse a Klan leader? That's a bizarre idea).

a reply to: theantediluvian

Do you have any proof that when that idiot David Duke disavowed the klan decades ago he was insincere?

Do you have proof Robert E. Lee who disavowed the confederacy was insincere? Can you if imagine he was a bad loser like the dems and told all southerners to "resist"? He played a vital role in reunifying our wounded nation.

And Byrd got caught lying about the date he alleged to have disavowing the kkk so he cannot be trusted at all.

Robert C. Byrd, a Democrat, was a recruiter for the Klan while in his 20s and 30s, rising to the title of Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of his local chapter. After leaving the group, Byrd spoke in favor of the Klan during his early political career. Though he claimed to have left the organization in 1943, Byrd wrote a letter in 1946 to the group's Imperial Wizard stating "The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia

en.m.wikipedia.org...

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Robert Byrd was certainly in the Klan. He was never a Grand Wizard though. Do you have any proof that when Robert Byrd quit and disavowed the Klan half a century ago, he wasn't sincere?

You don't believe that people can change?

More importantly, what's your inaccurate meme got to do with the topic? Obama isn't President. Robert Byrd has been dead for what, 7 years? Hell, this thread was even about Trump and you feel the need to derail it with BS.

Lmao.

It's ridiculous on so many levels. Byrd endorsed Obama not the other way around.

This is how he voted toward the end of his life:

en.wikipedia.org...
For the 2003–2004 session, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)[64] rated Byrd's voting record as being 100% in line with the N.A.A.C.P.'s position on the thirty-three Senate bills they evaluated. Sixteen other senators received that rating. In June 2005, Byrd proposed an additional $10,000,000 in federal funding for the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., remarking that, "With the passage of time, we have come to learn that his Dream was the American Dream, and few ever expressed it more eloquently."[65] Upon news of his death, the NAACP released a statement praising Byrd, saying that he "became a champion for civil rights and liberties" and "came to consistently support the NAACP civil rights agenda".[66]

Dude probably doesn't even know that's Robert Byrd to even fact check the #ing meme.

a reply to: theantediluvian

I mostly found this interesting and worth the read.

some Oath Keepers sounding the alarm, they can push out the neo-Nazis who have insidiously infiltrated Trump support.

that part though,

like all things Trump, labels are given and associations are made by those who oppose his presidency.

There arent enough neo Nazis and racist groups to infiltrate anything, let alone do so insidiously.

What is subtle here and could be considered to be insidious is the attempt to label Trump supporters as racists. Thats absurd.

I cant believe people are still going on about that. Its just more annoying not more effective at creating reality. Trump supporters are about 50% of the country / most of it geographically. They arent any one thing. Trump supporters arent racists nor have they been "infiltrated" in any meaningful measure.

originally posted by: XAnarchistX
He was at Berkeley yelling as many slurs as he said others were using, he kept saying he wanted to "Kill Antifa" using homophobic and racists slurs, and he has white Pride tattooed on his arms, regardless of what he thinks now, he can't play the innocent victim.

Also, Rise Above Movement is a neo-nazi fight club group, they were at Berkeley, San Bernadino, and some other events here in Southern California, they also went to Charlottesville

Umm..I'm just lost i guess. I don't seem to understand this thread. This guy didn't seem to have a real change of heart. He just didnt seem to know what he believes. He certainly wasn't preaching acceptance. He was basically saying over and over that "I have to be over here because they don't want me over there." He even started to get a fight going with a man that wasn't being loud or violent. Regardless, if this guy is a symbol for unity...we're f'd for sure.

a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Liar.

“Senator Byrd reflects the transformative power of this nation,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Senator Byrd went from being an active member of the KKK to a being a stalwart supporter of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and many other pieces of seminal legislation that advanced the civil rights and liberties of our country.

“Senator Byrd came to consistently support the NAACP civil rights agenda, doing well on the NAACP Annual Civil Rights Report Card. He stood with us on many issues of crucial importance to our members from the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, the historic health care legislation of 2010 and his support for the Hate Crimes Prevention legislation,” stated Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy.

The Hill

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: Deny Arrogance

Liar.

“Senator Byrd reflects the transformative power of this nation,” stated NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “Senator Byrd went from being an active member of the KKK to a being a stalwart supporter of the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act and many other pieces of seminal legislation that advanced the civil rights and liberties of our country.

“Senator Byrd came to consistently support the NAACP civil rights agenda, doing well on the NAACP Annual Civil Rights Report Card. He stood with us on many issues of crucial importance to our members from the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, the historic health care legislation of 2010 and his support for the Hate Crimes Prevention legislation,” stated Hilary O. Shelton, Director of the NAACP Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Advocacy and Policy.

The Hill

Byrd did show interest in racial equality during re-election time. That's when the Democrats really promise the goods. When will the black communities realized they keep getting duped by the Democratic party?

a reply to: Anathros

Perhaps it's your opinion that "the Democrats" are duping Black Americans?

What your argument, are Blacks not bright enough to understand that they're "being duped"???

Think it through.

That's what happens when regular folk don't stand up against the violence and demonization of others -- the goons show up to do it.

... or when people do anything possible to justify the violent screed of White Supremacists and Nazis by calling it free speech.

People made the same arguments in Germany in the 20s.

a reply to: Anathros

originally posted by: Gryphon66
a reply to: Anathros

Perhaps it's your opinion that "the Democrats" are duping Black Americans?

What your argument, are Blacks not bright enough to understand that they're "being duped"???

Think it through.

I think that for generations they have been indoctrinated to believe that Democrats are good for them. Welfare, foodstamps, government housing. All things they believe that the Republicans want to take away. So in short...yes and no.

Yes. Those raised in poverty stricken ghettos have become dependent on the government tit and see no reason to rise up and better themselves.

No. Those raised in the suburbs and rural areas of the country by good parents know that the American dream is alive and well.

Take that how you want. Different environments breed different ethics.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Anathros

Much better video. Seems sincere to me and I applaud his decision to move away from the hate spewing Nazis. One thing I don't understand is how do these people make it to all those damn rallies and protests? Hell, I have to scratch and claw to get a day to off to get a check up at the Dr's Office.

a reply to: PistolPete

Look more closely at the photo.

Obama is endorsing and holding a book authored by Grand Dragon Kleagle Exalted Cyclops Byrd. The book was written specifically for Obama.

a reply to: tadaman

There arent enough neo Nazis and racist groups to infiltrate anything, let alone do so insidiously.

You underestimate how many there are and how they've been recruiting. I'll quote something I posted from yesterday as it's getting late and I'm feeling lazy. Ironically, McInnes took down the video I embedded in just the last 24 hours.

That's because McInnes, Cernovich and others are trying to scrub their social media, YT, whatever of all their links to the Nazi scum they were more than happy to promote until it started to drag on their brands when the mainstream took notice.

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Teikiatsu

That's disingenuous. There are no Trump supporters saying that white nationalists/supremacists (using WSN for short from now on) are 'good guys.' Seriously. Do you have any standard American citizen on record saying WSN are good guys? Please present them.

Sure there are. This video was uploaded by Mark F. He was a part of #LatinosWithTrump, a group which was controlled by Tim Clark and through him, Dan Scavino. The title of the video is what?

Trump Supporter Knock Out Antifa in Berkeley

Go ahead and give it a watch. That guy he's calling a "Trump supporter" is Nathan Damigo, the founder of Identity Evropa. Or perhaps you'd like this video, entitled:

Battle of Berkeley III: Patriots Defeat #Antifa

Pay attention at 1:32. That's Proud Boy, Kyle "Based Stickman" Chapman, along with Robert Boman of DIY Division, Nathan Damigo from Identity Evropa with some of their assorted followers.

Go ahead and watch that whole video. You'll see Chapman speaking (it's not very good) and later, alt-right social media celeb, Brittany Pettibone. Notice that nobody is actually stopping them from speaking. Notice too that they have militia guards. I can't make out the badges. After they're done all their speaking, then they head out for the fighting because essentially, it's just one big happy fight club operating under false pretense.

See, what's happened here is that Trump supporters have been getting played by prominent figures in the MAGA crowd on social media who have used the support for Trump to build their own brands. They spin these videos as "based patriot Trump supporters protecting free speech!" but in reality, it's a hodgepodge of extremists which is lousy with white nationalists and neo-Nazis.

I'm not blaming Trump supporters for not knowing. I think most Trump supporters actually abhor neo-Nazis but when they're being lied to, they end up inadvertently supporting these assholes. You'll be happy to know that there is currently a whole lot of infighting in this group now because McInnes (who's a Canadian btw), who has/had a column in the alt-right Taki's mag (a gig Richard Spencer got him), who *was* pals with UTR organizer Kessler (a Proud Boy himself):

... Cernovich and others have outgrown their allies and now see them as a liability. It's pretty funny to watch on Twitter. Here's Hunter Wallace (Brad Griffin) of League of the South (they're actually a neo-Confederate group — their flag is the black X on the white background) expressing his angst at being jilted:

Posobiec there is who I was posting about here.

Your examples from 2017 started with non-WSN speakers early on, like Milo Yiannopoulos and Lauren Southern. After the initial riots from students and antifa, *then* the WSN showed up to fight, but they were not invited. They invited themselves, just like antifa.

I'm tired. They didn't invite themselves anymore than they invited themselves to UTR. Lauren Southern is another opportunistic Canadian who is looking to stir up # to further her brand. She's also an Identitarian. Here's an interesting read at the (very far-right) Liberty Conservative you might want to look over:

Generation Identity And The Alt-Right: A Comparison

Furthermore, Identity Evropa possesses the taint of white nationalism that is so anathema to American culture whereas Generation Identity’s relationship to that particular political hot potato is much more complex. Nathan Damigo and his associates are unabashedly in favor of what they call a “white ethnostate” or “separatism.” On the other hand, members of the European Identitarian movement do not frame their political goals in such terms. They characterize their mission as preventing the “displacement” of “native” European peoples from their homelands. In short, Generation Identity deploys language often used by Native American tribes in North America. American groups such as Identity Evropa have a more difficult time asserting the “ownership” of North America by white persons in comparison because Europe was not settled in the same manner as North America. Moreover, Generation Identity focuses more on maintaining specific instances of European culture, such as “French-ness” or “Austrian-ness” rather than simply “whiteness.”

Anyway, I'll stop back in the morning and comment some more. I have a problem with Antifa shutting down speakers with violence. I have a problem with political violence period. But this whole narrative of "based patriots" rising up in defense of Trump supporters against the "terrorist" Antifa is a whole lot of bull#. And threads like this only demonstrate the blinders are still on when it comes to one side.