Paul Gosar Spoke At A White Nationalist Conference. The GOP Doesn’t Care.

Last week a sitting U.S. congressman delivered a keynote speech at a white nationalist conference in Florida. 

“Wow, what a group,” Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) said as he took his place behind a podium emblazoned with the letters “AFPAC” — an acronym for America First Political Action Conference, the second annual gathering of the white nationalist “groyper” movement. 

After speaking about “cancel culture,” Big Tech’s supposed censorship of right-wingers, and the need for a big border wall to keep “America First,” Gosar said goodbye to the AFPAC crowd, who’d traveled from across the country to attend the secret gathering inside the Hilton Orlando. 

“May God bless you,” Gosar said. “And may God bless the United States of America.”

The crowd — a motley crew of unabashed racists and anti-Semites — broke into a chant of “Gosar! Gosar!” to which the congressman responded with a wave, a smile and what looked like an earnest, heartfelt “Thank you.” …

He has a long history of political extremism, spending his 10 years in office often hobnobbing with extremist groups in America and even abroad. 

Gosar is closely tied to the far-right militia the Oath Keepers. A leader of the group recently claimed Gosar once told the militiamen that America was already in a civil war. “We just haven’t started shooting yet,” Gosar allegedly said. 

He once traveled to Nevada to support other far-right militiamen in an armed standoff with federal authorities; he’s posed for a photo with a member of the Proud Boys, a violent neo-fascist street gang; and another time flew all the way to London to speak at a rally in support of a jailed anti-Muslim activist….