Far-right extremists are LARPing as emergency workers in Los Angeles

Extremists included white supremacists and border livestreamers I’m going down to Los Angeles in in the middle of the fires here to gain followers, soak up social media engagement, ask for donations and, experts say, recruit new members, while in some cases LARPing as emergency workers.

Last weekend, Ryan Sánchez and three other members of his Rede Nacionalista group set up at the entrance to Santa Monica Pier. Sánchez, that was caught on video giving a Nazi salute during last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and his crew had driven overnight from Arizona, where they live.

Sánchez, who was a member of the now defunct white supremacist fight club known as the Rise Above Movementis an ally of white supremacist Nick Fuentes and is sometimes known by his online moniker “Culture War Criminal.”

Sánchez, who did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment, said on his social media accounts that his group “had much more support than expected” and said that all donations have been dates to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall, a building that is said. housing veterans and charities involved in military and veteran affairs. (He did not respond to a request to confirm that Sánchez’s group has made donations.)

While Sánchez and his colleagues say they’re in LA to do good, experts who track the activities of far-right groups tell WIRED that what they’re really engaged in is “disaster tourism” to promote their own agenda seems to do good for society. .

“Based on a lot of their past activities, this is probably being used as a recruiting effort, which is something that has happened a lot more in the last year where far-right groups are engaging in disaster tourism,” says Freddy Cruz, the program. manager for monitoring and training in the Western States Center. “We saw it with Hurricane Helene, and now we see it again. These groups are essentially just traveling to disaster areas to create propaganda, ask for donations, and in some cases steal donations from people on the ground.”

On Monday, Sánchez said that while his group was no longer collecting well for the relief effort, he was still interested in meeting new potential recruits.

“We will not accept any more donations tomorrow, but if you are still interested in volunteering, contact us,” Sánchez wrote on Telegram and X on Sunday morning.

A donation link Sánchez posted on his Telegram channel links directly to his personal Cash App account, and it is not clear where the donated money went, although Sánchez suggested it was used to finance the trip and the ‘accommodation of his group.

“The crisis in Los Angeles continues, with strong winds expected in the coming days. Thanks to your support, the Nationalist Network will be there for our fellow Americans,” Sánchez wrote on his Telegram and X accounts on Monday, before asking for more donations “if you want to help keep our activists fed and in the fight.”

As for Sánchez and the Nationalist Network, multiple MAGA Livestreamers he traveled to LA in the last few days to start publishing content after the fires while at the same time asking for money from his followers.