Elon Musk, the owner of X, announced on Thursday his decision to reinstate avowed neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes to the platform. Fuentes, who leads the Groyper Army, has been banned from X since 2021 for his history of violent and bigoted rhetoric. His reinstatement by Musk sparked widespread controversy and concern given Fuentes’ extremist views and past statements.
Fuentes has gained notoriety for his extreme far-right politics and associations with prominent figures like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ). He also attended a dinner with former President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago alongside anti-Semitic rapper Kanye West. Fuentes later appeared with West on Alex Jones’s InfoWars, where West expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, echoing Fuentes’ regular rhetoric, which includes Holocaust denial and calls for the execution of non-Christians.
Musk’s response to a follower questioning why the “free speech absolutist” had not yet reinstated Fuentes was: “Very well, he will be reinstated, provided he does not violate the law, and let him be crushed by the comments and Community Notes.” Musk added, “It is better to have anti whatever out in the open to be rebutted than grow simmering in the darkness.”
Fuentes leads the Groyper Army, a far-right group promoting white nationalist ideals, often attempting to push mainstream conservatism further to the right. His rhetoric includes violent imagery and threats. In one instance, Fuentes stated that he would be willing to commit extrajudicial killings if ordered by Donald Trump, calling himself a “soldier” and a member of the “paramilitary wing of the Trump movement.”
Very well, he will be reinstated, provided he does not violate the law, and let him be crushed by the comments and Community Notes.
It is better to have anti whatever out in the open to be rebutted than grow simmering in the darkness.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2024
Fate loves irony, but hates hypocrisy.
I cannot claim to be a defender of free speech, but then permanently ban someone who hasn’t violated the law, no matter how much I disagree with what they say.
This will probably cause us to lose a lot of advertisers and makes me sad, but…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 2, 2024
