The organizers behind the Conservative Political Action Conference denied an NBC News story about neo-Nazis openly mingling at the annual confab, branding the report “false” and “fake news” while touting the group’s pro-Israel stance.
However, following the right-wing organization’s repeated denials, NBC News reporter Ben Goggin posted video and photographic evidence of prominent white supremacists attending last week’s event—including one openly giving a Nazi salute. CPAC did not respond to The Daily Beast’s request for comment.
Despite CPAC leader Matt Schlapp’s threat to deny press passes to mainstream and left-leaning media outlets, Goggin was credentialed and reported from the conference that “racist extremists” had “secured official CPAC badges” and “openly mingled with conference attendees and espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories.”
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The NBC report further noted that attendees included Greg Gonte, a Richard Spencer ally who was part of the deadlyUnite the Right Rally in Charlottesville; Ryan Sanchez, a former member of the neo-Nazi Rise Above Movement; and Jared Taylor, founder of the white supremacist website American Renaissance.
“At the Young Republican mixer Friday evening, a group of Nazis who openly identified as national socialists mingled with mainstream conservative personalities, including some from Turning Point USA, and discussed so-called ‘race science’ and antisemitic conspiracy theories,” Goggin wrote.
Conte reportedly said his group was “prepared to be ejected if CPAC organizers were tipped off, but that never happened.” Additionally, Sanchez tweeted a photo of himself shaking hands with Taylor during the conference, boasting that they were inside CPAC’s secure area.
Schlapp first reacted to Goggin’s reporting on Sunday by posting on X that it was a “tired old cliche” to claim Nazis attended CPAC. “The Neo-Nazis in our midst are the ones controlling our college campuses and major institutions and grossly populate the newsrooms of corporate media, calling for an Israeli surrender,” he wrote. “@CPAC approved a resolution and joined our CPAC international partners in condemning Jew Hatred that is so often featured on NBC outlets.”
CPAC’s official X account soon followed suit, posting an official statement from Schlapp accusing NBC of weaving “together lies and fabrications to create a false perception.” The conservative organization refused to “stand by idly while NBC engages in willful misinformation,” the tweet continued.
“NBC’s claim that there was a Nazi presence at CPAC 2024 is false, misleading, and grossly manipulative—especially coming from a writer who has carried the water for Hamas in much of his reporting on the Israel-Gaza war,” the official CPAC account added.
Goggin responded to CPAC’s post in a series of tweets: “The Nazis introduced themselves to me at a mixer and said they were national socialists, started talking about skull measurements and pushing the conspiracy theory that all races were being controlled Jewish people. They were posting about their presence at CPAC online.”
The NBC reporter then produced receipts: Goggin shared tweets from Sanchez boasting about his presence at the confab while wearing an official CPAC badge. He also posted a video of Sanchez giving a Nazi salute in the lobby of the conference hotel alongside Conte, and a photo of Sanchez and Taylor shaking hands inside the event.
Doubling down on Monday, CPAC tweeted out a meme calling NBC “fake news” and claiming “reprehensible Neo Nazis are not welcome at CPAC.” The real Nazis are the Democrats for supposedly embracing “Pro-Hamas antisemites” and having animus for Israel, the conference added.
“NBC wrote a hit piece on @CPAC yesterday in yet another blatant attempt by the propagandists in the media to discredit conservatives for the VERY thing that the left is ACTUALLY doing,” the organization’s account wrote.
Goggin, meanwhile, pointed out that CPAC and Schlapp have yet to actually respond to the actual video and photographic evidence he’s presented of actual Nazis gallivanting at the conference this year.
In recent years, CPAC has made it a point to kick out prominent white supremacists and antisemites who have infiltrated the event, most notably neo-Nazi podcaster Nick Fuentes.
Goggin, in fact, noted on Monday that Schlapp was actually confronted on Friday by Fuentes’ supporters. “It’s hard for me to imagine that @mschlapp didn’t know @CPAC had a Nazi problem when he was literally confronted on Friday with someone asking why Nick Fuentes wasn’t allowed at the conference,” the NBC reporter wondered.
With the confab seemingly falling out of favor with mainstream Republicans and conservative cable giant Fox News due to the scandalous allegations of Schlapp’s sexual misconduct, however, the event has been more welcome to not only the deep MAGA wing of the conservative movement but also the extreme fringes.
Outside of the notable Nazis in the CPAC midst this past week, for instance, the event also provided speaking slots to election-denying pillow salesman Mike Lindell and Pizzagate conspiracist Jack Posobiec, who used his time to call for the end of democracy alongside former Trump strategist Steve Bannon.
Schlapp, who is now essentially banned from Fox News, has made up for his dearth of mainstream cable news appearances by becoming a regular on Bannon’s podcast, including a sitdown on Monday morning to boast about CPAC.
