Why Is This Republican Congressman Following White Nationalists On Twitter?

Anonymous internet bigots are a dime a dozen. But when a member of Congress subscribes to a live feed of their thoughts, we take note.

Sure, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) “follows” some usual suspects on his personal Twitter page. Among the 792 accounts the congressman keeps up with on the social network are national parks, think tanks, journalists and local restaurants in Arizona’s Fourth District. The list includes Trump supporters, plenty of “Qanon” conspiracy theory believers, accounts with anti-immigrant beliefs that mirror Gosar’s own and even the rapper Drake.

But a few are out-and-out white nationalists. Gosar’s office didn’t respond to TPM’s requests for comment on how the congressman came to follow these accounts.

One of the accounts, @marktsword, referred in a recent tweet to “ZOG,” or “Zionist-occupied government,” a reference to the anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that Jews secretly control various governments. The account used a racial slur in a tweet just days ago, and the same day called for “a leader who can rile the masses of Whites with their eye’s [sic] closed.”

Nothing is ever going to change for the better for Whites who’s ancestors built this country, until we actually start organizing, protesting and taking action. We need a leader who can rile the masses of Whites with their eye’s closed. pic.twitter.com/RfswguDWNH

— Mark sr❌ (@marktsword) May 25, 2019

Wherever there’s niggers they’ll be niggin. pic.twitter.com/OpSIOdrFY6

— Mark sr❌ (@marktsword) May 25, 2019

Have a look, the Jewish Bolshevik Communists started this censorship of speech they didn’t like. ZOG is real ## pic.twitter.com/9a0apxl3lo

— Mark sr❌ (@marktsword) May 27, 2019

Fn Jew bastards https://t.co/CQcr8YAFCE

— Mark sr❌ (@marktsword) May 29, 2019

Another account Gosar follows has “88” in its handle. On far-right corners of the internet, that number refers to the eighth letter in the alphabet: 88 is a stand-in for “HH,” or “Heil Hitler.” The Twitter user wrote at one point that she’s glad she sends her daughter to a school that’s “99% white.” On Monday, responding to a group picture of a multi-racial classroom in Ireland, the account tweeted “Sad so many whites hate their own people so much that they cheer for the blatant eradication of them.” Elsewhere, she referred to black people as “animals.”

My daughter came home from school today talking about how her science teacher was mad about the light sentence this guy got. I’m glad I changed her school to a 99% white, country ass school. At least they’re talking about what’s really going on. https://t.co/a68E4bZyJj

— ⚡Lyllith⚡ (@TradNatWife88) May 14, 2019

Also went to a school with a ton of blacks and they were constantly trying to get attention by making fun of other kids or doing insane things. One pulled his dick out in class and shoved it in another boys mouth while he was sleeping at his desk. #animals

— ⚡Lyllith⚡ (@TradNatWife88) May 23, 2019

Why does everyone sound so fake- happy in the replies? It’s like they’re putting on a show. Or saying what they think they should say. Sad so many whites hate their own people so much that they cheer for the blatant eradication of them. How blind (or stupid) are they?

— ⚡Lyllith⚡ (@TradNatWife88) May 28, 2019

TPM started looking into Gosar’s web presence last week when he “liked” a post from Stefan Molyneux, a popular right-wing YouTuber who made a case for white nationalism in a documentary about Poland he released in December. Gosar follows Molyneux on Twitter, too.

Gosar is active on the account. On Wednesday night, for example, he tweeted what appeared to be a homemade travelogue-style video documenting his air travel, tagging the right-wing internet personality Mike Cernovich. Gosar created his personal account in June 2017 — long after creating a professional account, @RepGosar, in 2011 — and has “liked” more than 1,600 posts since then.

The congressman is also known for letting loose on the platform. In April, he called a Democratic critic of his a “porn loving whiny bitch” and “a little bitch.”