Ali Alexander, the far-right organizer behind the so-called Stop the Steal movement, has found a way to profit from his hard-right political brand.
In the lead-up to the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, Alexander spent months promoting the baseless conspiracy theory that former President Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential election and embracing adherents of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory as well as the neo-fascist Proud Boys hate group during his so-called Stop the Steal rallies. Now, the hard-right operative is selling merchandise in an attempt to generate passive income. His merchandise is currently available on Gumroad, a popular online platform that allows creators to sell products directly to consumers.
Alexander’s available merchandise includes a “Joe Biden is Sicko” hat as well as mugs and T-shirts emblazoned with the far-right activist’s mugshot, taken when he was arrested on theft and credit card fraud charges in 2007.
“Ali Alexander has long been fighting off trolls that try to hold his past against him,” read the description beneath his mugshot T-shirt. “These NPCs just don’t know when to let up. This is a man who has been in the political arena for 14 years going toe to toe with the best of the best. He knows about the mugshot. And guess what? He found a way to profit off it! Support the baddest man in politics with this Ali Alexander Mugshot Shirt. All sales are final. There are no refunds.” (NPC appears to stand for “non-player character,” a term used to describe someone who is unable to think objectively.)
In the aftermath of the Capitol insurrection, Alexander went into hiding while the FBI and Justice Department began investigating his connection to the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. As media attention shifted to his role, social media users began widely sharing his 2007 mugshot from when the far-right activist—who then went by Ali Akbar—was charged with credit card fraud.
Earlier this year, following his role in organizing the rallies that led to the insurrection, Alexander was banned from major social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook as well as major payment apps and processors like PayPal and Venmo, all of which limited his ability to further his brand or generate income. Gumroad is Alexander’s latest attempt to profit off his political exploits.
Alexander is also selling memberships on Gumroad ranging from $10 to $250 per month. Depending on the subscription level, users can participate in “regular conference calls” with Alexander ($25 per month), read his opinions about “politics and the market” ($55 per month), or gain “full email correspondence” with the far-right activist ($250 per month).
It is worth noting that Alexander is also relying on cryptocurrency platforms to generate passive income. As Right Wing Watch previously reported, Alexander is a prominent member of BitClout, a decentralized social media platform that allows users to buy and sell tokens based on people’s reputations or “clout.” He also founded the subscription-based analytics website, BitClout Analysis, as well as CloutMembers, another subscription-based platform.
While BitClout’s decentralized nature ensures that Alexander cannot be deplatformed, Gumroad is a centralized service that reserves the right to “suspend or terminate” an account it deems to have “violated the law or breached” any of its terms of service.
Gumroad has yet to respond to Right Wing Watch’s request for comment.
Update (4/29): This post has been updated with additional information about Ali Alexander's mugshot.
