La Grange Park Racist Condemned By GOP

LA GRANGE PARK, IL — Nicholas Fuentes, an admitted racist from La Grange Park, drew national publicity over the weekend when a congresswoman spoke at his America First rally.

Afterward, the Republican leaders in the Senate and House denounced Fuentes, a 2016 Lyons Township High School graduate who led the student body.

In Florida, Fuentes spoke at the America First Political Action Conference, which he founded, and introduced U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican.

In his speech, Fuentes told a cheering audience that the "secret sauce here" is these "young white men."

Fuentes also asked for the audience to give a round of applause for Vladimir Putin, who had begun his invasion of Ukraine. The audience chanted Putin's name.

Then Fuentes jokingly compared Putin to Adolf Hitler, implying that such a comparison could be seen as positive for the audience. Then he quipped that the comparison of the two leaders was "terrible."

Moments later, he introduced Greene, who went to the podium and patted Fuentes on the back.

Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy later was quoted as saying that Fuentes' language was "appalling." He said he would have a talk about it with Greene and Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, who spoke to the group in a pre-recorded video.

McCarthy told CNN that he took issue with Fuentes' language about antisemitism and the chanting for Putin. He said Greene should have left the stage because of the Russia comment.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell responded to the America First event by saying in a statement, "There's no place in the Republican Party for white supremacists or anti-Semitism."

Asked by reporters later about Fuentes, Greene said she did not know him or what his views are.

Told that Fuentes was a white nationalist, Greene said, "I don't endorse those views."

In a podcast last year, Fuentes said former Donald Trump was "awesome" because he was racist and sexist. But he lamented Trump was not antisemitic.

He also has entered the realm of Holocaust denial — a favorite of white supremacists. He is on video comparing the Nazi killing of millions of Jews with cookie-baking.

As of last year, Fuentes was still registered to vote in La Grange Park.

Both conservatives and liberals have criticized Patch's coverage of Fuentes. Conservatives contend the stories imply that Fuentes and former President Donald Trump are allies. They say Trump does not even know Fuentes. And they further argue that Patch should cover the racism they say is displayed by liberals.

Some liberals, meanwhile, say Patch should not shine the spotlight on someone who holds such racist views.