Congressmen To Mix With Leader of FP脰, a Party Founded by Nazis
At CPAC Hungary this week, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona and Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama will speak alongside a global collection of radical-right figures, including the leader of an Austrian political party founded by Nazi SS officers.
CPAC Hungary, an offshoot of the U.S.-based Conservative Political Action Conference, puts that country鈥檚 autocratic Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n in a global spotlight for a second consecutive year, surrounding him with like-minded figures from across the world. Orb谩n is an authoritarian leader whom Tucker Carlson regularly lauded on his show before Fox News canceled it last month. In addition to Orb谩n鈥檚 history of corruption and hostility to , he has given voice to the 聽conspiracy theory espoused by radical-right extremists.
The Austrian political party , Austrian Freedom Party, or FP脰, will send to CPAC Hungary their chairman, Herbert Kickl, along with European Parliament member Harald Vilimsky. These men will join other radical-right figures, including former Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jan拧a, who has a reputation for , Japanese politician and 聽Hiroaki 鈥淛ay鈥� Aeba, and American political operative Jack Posobiec, who is known for his ties to the white supremacist movement聽and his history of promoting Russian intelligence-backed聽social media campaigns.
Hatewatch attempted to reach Gosar but could not get in contact with him. Hatewatch emailed Moore鈥檚 office but did not receive a response.
Gosar, who pushed the 鈥淪top the Steal鈥�聽lie that preceded the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is no stranger to appearing alongside extremists. He has previously stood with white nationalist and antisemite Nick Fuentes聽at his AFPAC conference.
Moore has a lower profile than Gosar but is also familiar with controversy. The Alabama congressman 聽in January 2021 after publishing tweets that promoted former President Donald Trump鈥檚 lies about the 2020 election and appeared to apologize for those who attacked the Capitol in its aftermath. He 聽in February to make the AR-15 the 鈥淣ational Gun of America.鈥�
An illiberal coalition
Gosar, Moore and Posobiec will link up with other American reactionaries at the pro-Orb谩n event. Matt Schlapp, the CPAC leader who has denied allegations that he 聽a male staffer, will attend. CPAC Hungary also lists election denier Kari Lake, who lost the race for Arizona鈥檚 governor in 2022, as a speaker. Michael Anton, a former Trump adviser, will be there too, according to a post on . Mark Meadows, Trump鈥檚 embattled former chief of staff, will appear before the CPAC Hungary crowd via video conference.
Indiana鈥檚 new Secretary of State Diego Morales, who has 聽in that state for hiring his brother-in-law to a six-figure job, will speak in person. So will Rick Santorum, the anti-人兽性交+ former senator 聽in 2021 after making comments appearing to dismiss the cultural impact of Native Americans. Other, 聽are also slated to speak.
In addition to members of the Nazi-founded FP脰, members of far-right groups known for their anti-immigrant and anti-人兽性交+ stances will be at CPAC Hungary. Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, is speaking. Members of such hardline groups as France鈥檚 National Rally (formerly National Front), Portugal鈥檚 neofascist , and Im Tirtzu, a Zionist group who 聽as traitors to Israel, will also speak.
Newsweek again associates with anti-democracy movement
Josh Hammer of Newsweek will also speak at CPAC Hungary, marking another time when that publication鈥檚 opinion editor has publicly rubbed shoulders with European radical-right figures. Hammer previously attended聽the New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) gala in December 2022 alongside members of FP脰, Germany鈥檚 Alternative for Germany (AfD), American white nationalists聽and Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Hammer has courted radical right, anti-人兽性交+, anti-immigrant and anti-democracy voices while serving as Newsweek鈥檚 opinion editor, as Hatewatch previously reported. He has also traveled to Hungary to speak to a state-sponsored group. In February 2022, Newsweek published a glowing dispatch Hammer authored about Hungary without disclosing that connection to Orb谩n鈥檚 government. In addition to Orb谩n, other extremists who are slated to attend CPAC Hungary promote views hostile to press freedom, and they are listed on a roster .
In a previous comment to Hatewatch, Newsweek claimed that Hammer 鈥渄oes not share nor endorse the views of those published in the opinion section of Newsweek, nor those who participate in events he attends.鈥� Hatewatch reached out again about Hammer鈥檚 scheduled appearance at CPAC Hungary, but the magazine did not respond.
Hammer is joined by contributors to the opinion section he runs, including the extremist Posobiec聽and Trump loyalist Gavin Wax, the president of NYYRC. Wax staged a protest聽last month, featuring Posobiec, outside the Manhattan courthouse where the former president pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While speaking at NYYRC鈥檚 gala in December, Wax called for 鈥渢otal war鈥�聽against his perceived domestic enemies.
Banner image:聽Rep. Paul Gosar, a Republican from Arizona, listens during a panel discussion at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 27, 2021. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
