Elon Musk and GOP House Members Weigh in on Deep White Nationalist Conspiracy Beef

As America observed its 250th birthday this past weekend, billionaire Elon Musk and Republican members of Congress aired out a conspiracy theory that has emerged amid internecine white supremacist feuding.

Their comments suggested the group Patriot Front, which marched through DC during the Independence Day festivities, is not made up of far-right activists but is actually a “leftist” or even federal law enforcement front. Those suggestions have been described by experts as a baseless and potentially dangerous conspiracy theory, but Rep. Ana Paulina Luna (R-FL), one of the politicians who joined the latest chorus, even went so far as to propose an official investigation based on the fringe paranoia. 

“What I find odd about Patriot Front is how under Biden they were never investigated,” Luna wrote in a post on X. “Well funded. Never investigated.”

“FBI under Biden looked into Catholics instead. So, looks like @GOPoversight should do some digging,” she continued, referencing the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of which she is a member. 

For those not well versed in the right-wing beefs of X and various other online forums, the conspiracy theory Luna tapped into requires some explanation. 

Patriot Front, a white supremacist group which emerged in the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville rally, is ostensibly dedicated to the idea “America has a unique national identity founded in European discovery and settlement.” The group’s leader, Thomas Rousseau, was involved with an earlier organization, Vanguard America, that disbanded amid the controversy, legal pressure, and finger pointing that consumed the far right following Charlottesville. Rousseau has been a regular presence on far-right podcasts, where he has expressed support for a dark vision of the country where immigration is restricted to Europeans and non-whites are removed from within its borders. He also, as a high schooler, expressed support for President Donald Trump’s first campaign.

Along with advancing arguments for a whiter America, Patriot Front has been among the right-wing extremist groups focusing on training members in martial arts. The group’s main public activities involve distributing propaganda materials and staging masked marches in their signature khakis and blue shirts. These gatherings — which are typically staged with no advance notice and involve a hasty exit to avoid facing counterprotesters — have taken place at state capitol buildings, at LGBTQ events, and in major cities. The propaganda displays and marches have made Patriot Front one of the country’s most active and prominent hate groups. 

On July 4, Patriot Front took their schtick to Washington, DC, where a man who appeared to be Rousseau and hundreds of the group’s members marched through the capital chanting “Reclaim America!” Musk and multiple Republicans responded by suggesting the event wasn’t what it very clearly appeared to be: a pop-up white supremacist march.

“It’s just another SPLC false flag operation,” tweeted Musk in response to a widely-circulated photo of Patriot Front on the DC Metro. 

Musk’s suggestion the group’s Washington march was actually masterminded by the Southern Poverty Law Center — a group dedicated to tracking and litigating against white supremacist groups, and that has been a consistent target for both the far right and the Trump administration — was not the first time he has advanced the idea that Patriot Front is some type of front. 

In the past, Musk, a former Trump administration player who has regularly used his social media platform to air white supremacist views, has engaged with users suggesting forces within the government are behind Patriot Front, including by falsely claiming that members of the group got to wear their masks even after being arrested.

That view echoes persistent conspiracy theories among the far right that suggest the left or even the FBI are truly behind Patriot Front. These claims, which are largely based on the fact the group wears masks, have been made by right-wing influencers and other white supremacists who are in competition with the group for influence, including neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, who has called Patriot Front “a fed op.” Experts have expressed alarm about the conspiracy theory and noted it raises the risk of threats against law enforcement while also deflecting blame and attention from white supremacists. 

Musk did not respond to emails from TPM asking if he had any evidence for his claims and whether he was concerned about spreading a conspiracy theory. And the entrepreneur who spearheaded the Trump administration’s DOGE purge of the federal workforce was far from the only establishment political figure who responded to the July 4 Patriot Front march with conspiratorial paranoia. 

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) posted footage of Patriot Front in DC on July 4 on X and suggested “leftists” were responsible since “patriots don’t wear masks.” The attempts to blame the left for controversial right-wing activity in the capital echo strategies other Republican lawmakers deployed to deflect blame in the wake of the January 6 attack. Lee, who is a staunch supporter of Trump’s masked ICE agents, has previously deleted similar posts where he suggested masks are a clear signifier of ill intent. The senator and his office did not respond to questions from TPM about his comments on Patriot Front.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) took things even further with her post on Monday calling for an official investigation into Patriot Front and suggesting the group had been shielded from scrutiny under the administration of Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden. 

In reality, Biden expanded efforts to confront domestic terrorism and white supremacist groups. That’s a stark contrast from Trump. During the first Trump administration, the Justice Department suppressed data on the role of white supremacist groups in terrorism. Trump’s current administration has also shifted federal law enforcement focus away from hate crimes while continually minimizing the threat of far-right extremism. 

Luna’s office did not respond to questions from TPM about whether she had any evidence for her complaints or whether she has taken any action to investigate or raise concerns about white supremacist groups. 

For its part, Patriot Front has consistently rejected the notion it is some type of leftist or government-backed operation and dubbed the claim “slander.” Patriot Front did not respond to a request for comment on this story.