“AmericaFest” attracted a variety of fringe players along with conservative activists
By Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror
Far-right extremists, some with white nationalist beliefs, converged and met with politicians from across the country and state at Turning Point USA’s “AmericaFest” just before Christmas in downtown Phoenix for four days.
Turning Point, which is headquartered in Phoenix, is a right-leaning organization that aims to mobilize young conservatives, primarily on college campuses, but the week’s event featured speakers that ranged across the conservative spectrum.
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The major draw at the event was Kyle Rittenhouse, the acquitted shooter from Kenosha, Wisconsin who has received an outpouring of support from student conservative groups in the state, some with controversial backgrounds.
However, the event ended up becoming a major way for influencers from more extreme ideologies within the far-right to meet and interact with local and national politicians.
One of those controversial figures was Greyson Arnold, who has used his social media pages to post memes lauding Nazis as the “pure race” and lament the American victory in World War II. He also called Adolf Hitler a “complicated historical figure.”
