Is The Alt Right Ending? What Happened With Richard Spencer, DeploraBall And Nazi March

After Republican nominee Donald Trump was elected president, white nationalists, the so-called alt-right, white supremacists and a whole host of other groups on the far-right fringes celebrated the victory. But weeks later, reports this week have indicated that many of these groups are now in disarray and have begun fighting with one another.

"DeploraBall" — a inauguration celebration for alt-right Trump supporters — sparked infighting earlier this week after one of the key figures was disinvited for making comments about Jews. Headliner Tim "Baked Alaska" Treadstone was barred from the event by Mike Cernovich, once considered a leading figure in the so-called alt-right movement, a group featuring many who embrace white nationalist ideologies. Treadstone had tweeted about Jewish people controlling "95 [percent] of American media."

Treadstone also posted the text of what appeared to be a private, expletive conversation during which Cernovich told him to be quiet about the "JQ" or "Jewish question," while also telling him to stop Nazi saluting. He continued retweeting posts critical of Cernovich Thursday.

Some Trump supporters, such as Breitbart's Milo Yiannopoulos and Bill Mitchell, both of whom are reportedly appearing at the DeploraBall, have come to Cernovich's defense and disavowed some of the more extreme elements connected with the alt-right. Now these folks, who have called themselves "Trumpists," are being branded as "alt-light" and have been criticized by other factions under the Trump-supporter umbrella.

Meanwhile, Andrew Anglin, the publisher of white supremacist website The Daily Stormer has planned a Neo-Nazi march next month in Whitefish, Montana "against Jews, Jewish businesses and everyone who supports either."

"We are planning an armed protest in Whitefish, Montana has extremely liberal open carry laws, so my lawyer is telling me we can easily march through the center of the town carrying high-powered rifles," Anglin wrote. "I myself am planning on being there to lead the protest, which has been dubbed March on Whitefish'."

The event stemmed from activists protesting Richard Spencer, a part-time resident of the town of just more than 6,000, and the white nationalist founder of the so-called alt-right who was recently filmed leading chants of "Hail Trump" while making Nazi salutes. Spencer's mother, who runs an apartment complex in town, has also been subject to protests, which helped spark the reaction from white supremacists coming to Spencer's defense.

But Spencer, the head of a white nationalist think tank and someone with seemingly mainstream aspirations, has distanced himself from the planned armed march. He said he didn't think the event would actually happen, according to local newspaper the Missoulian.

"I didn't move to Whitefish for politics. I don't take part in local politics," Spencer added, according to the Missoulian.

But further showing how factions have formed among Trump's more extreme supporters, Spencer also came out against the Deploraball leaders who banned Treadstone.

"The 'alt-light' faces a major problem," Spencer wrote in an email to the Daily Beast. "People like Mike Cernovich and Milo don’t have an ideology; they don’t even really have policies that you can point to. They are Trump fans, who are vaguely conservative and a bit neocon-ish . They don't like feminists and [social justice warriors]; in other words, they pick the low-hanging fruit."

An organizer of the Deploraball told the Daily Beast that this was indicative of the "bad breakup" between the so-called Trumpists and the alt-right.