The FBI charged Alejandro Richard Velasquez Gomez Thursday for making a credible threat against Turning Point USA, a right-wing youth organizing group founded by Charlie Kirk.
Velasquez is connected to the misogynist “incel” community, according to federal agents, as well as the white nationalist America First youth movement headed by Nick Fuentes, highlighting the very real threat of the ideologies these communities espouse.
The San Antonio Express-News first reported that Velasquez threatened participants of TPUSA’s Student Action Summit, which was held in July 22-24 in Tampa, Florida, and featured speakers like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz.
“July 22 is the day of retribution the day I will have revenge against all of humanity which all of you will pay for my suffering,” Velasquez wrote on his Instagram page. The then 18-year-old also bought a flight from Austin, Texas, to Tampa on July 22, only canceling it the night before.
Tampa police deemed Velasquez’s threat against TPUSA attendees credible, and on July 22, police in San Antonio arrested him. After obtaining a search warrant and searching Velasquez’s phone, the FBI found more damning material. Velasquez’s phone included three images of children being sexually exploited by adults, which were detailed in the affidavit.
On Thursday, the FBI charged Velasquez with making threatening interstate communications and possession of child pornography.
Velasquez’s threats of violence and possession of child pornography follow a long line of extremist rhetoric. Political Research Associate’s Ben Lorber reported in 2021 that Velasquez regularly posted neo-Nazi content on Instagram and TikTok under monikers like “Sp*cWaffen.” Velasquez also showed familiarity with the misogynist “incel” community.
Incels—short for involuntarily celibate—are today best characterized by their virulent misogyny and belief that women owe them sex. Incels’ hatred for women is displayed on online message boards, where users insist that women are commodities, argue that women should not have the right to vote, and celebrate violence against women.
The language of Velasquez’s threat echoes that of Elliot Rodger, a self-identified incel who murdered six people in a stabbing and shooting rampage in 2014. Rodger has become an idolized figure among those in the misogynist incel subculture, including apparently Velasquez.
An FBI agent who interviewed Velasquez said in an affidavit that Velasquez “explained to me that he intended the post to evoke Elliot Rodger and was familiar with Elliot Rodger due to extensive online research.”
Velasquez also has connections to white nationalists like Nick Fuentes, who has alternatively praised and mocked Velasquez, according to PRA's Lorber. Lorber also reported that Velasquez at one point established a micro-community of brown ultranationalists who dwelt alongside America First.
Fuentes discussed Velasquez, who uses the moniker LatinoZoomer, on his “America First” show around 2021. “I’ve met him, he’s a nice guy,” Fuentes said of Velasquez in a video unearthed by KiwiFarms, a controversial forum known for doxing. Later, Fuentes read a message from Velasquez and wished him a happy birthday. “We love you, big guy,” he said.
Velasquez was also pictured with the white nationalist in 2021 after Fuentes’ speech in Dallas, Texas, which was held outside of the Conservative Political Action Conference. While Fuentes is banned from CPAC, Velasquez appeared to have attended the Trumpian conservative conference that year.
Velasquez was also pictured with the white nationalist in 2021 after Fuentes’ speech in Dallas, Texas, which was held outside of the venue for the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Fuentes has also been banned from TPUSA events for harassing TPUSA speakers. In 2019, Fuentes and America First’s army of “groypers”—young, mostly white men who make up America First—heckled speakers at TPUSA events held on college campuses and targeted TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk for not being adequately "pro-white" and far-right. The effort was two-fold: force TPUSA to be more extreme and recruit new followers.
On Friday, Fuentes denied claims that Velasquez was a part of America First. “For the record, Alejandro Velasquez had nothing to do with me or America First,” he posted on Telegram.
Though best known for his white nationalism, Fuentes is also a virulent misogynist and self-declared incel. And in spite of his well-known white nationalism, antisemitism, and Christian nationalism, some far-right Republican elected officials like Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, and Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers attend his events, lending him credibility among the GOP.
https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1484204621388210178
Among Fuentes' misogynist beliefs are that women should not have the right to vote or work, and that women in the United States should be treated like they are under the Taliban. In June, Fuentes declared, "We need to go back to burning women alive more." That language has been echoed by other America First white nationalists like Dalton Clodfelter, who recently said he would like to see a woman burned alive at the stake for wearing a "blasphemous" bikini.
Such virulent misogyny and violent rhetoric has been chocked up by some as a desire to shock audiences and increase notoriety. But if Velasquez’s credible threat of violence against TPUSA proves anything, it’s that such talk doesn’t remain just talk—and that it won’t spare conservatives either.
Correction 8/29/22: This story erroneously referred to Political Research Associates as "Public Research Associates." It has been corrected.
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