|   On June 12, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) tweeted: “Europe is waking up... Will America... in time?” and linked to an anti-immigrant tweet by a well-known British neo-Nazi named Mark Collett.A month later, the tweet is still there. It’s not surprising that the eight-term congressman from Iowa retweeted a neo-Nazi. King has a long history of making terrible, bigoted comments. (He’s the one who said Dreamers ― young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children ― have calves the size of cantaloupes “because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”) Chris Mathias, HuffPost's reporter who covers extremism, explored why King might tweet a neo-Nazi. And all evidence points to King being an extremist himself, more accurately, a white supremacist. Here is Mathias on how he gathered the evidence. What was the seed of the story?I was one of the first to spot the fact that King had retweeted Mark Collett, the British neo-Nazi, in June 12. I published a story about it, and then was disappointed at the lack of reaction. I tweeted about how disturbing it was that a sitting congressman can push out neo Nazi propaganda and face no consequences for it. The tweet went wild, and all of the sudden everyone was picking up on the story. And yet, the GOP has been so quiet about it all. I also got frustrated by the fact that people wouldn’t call a
duck a duck - in headlines and chyrons and on Twitter and in speeches, and call King a white supremacist. This was an opportunity to argue
the case for labeling him as such.
What was challenging?One of the biggest challenges was deciding whether he’s a white
nationalist or a white supremacist. (Short answer: by certain political theorists’ definitions, he’s both.) But I realized the best way to confront this problem was to consult some of my favorite experts on the subject: Jessie Daniels, Shane Burley, David Neiwert, and Zoe Samudzi.
What surprised you?
I was actually surprised at the people King follows on Twitter. People like Blair Cottrell, a violent Aussie white supremacist, and Stefan Molyeaux, a Canadian Alt right vlogger, who really thinks white people are smarter than black people. King only follows 164 people in Twitter. The only explanation in my mind for him following Cottrell and Molyeaux is because he likes what they have to say.
What was the impact of the story?
Surprisingly King tweeted about the story! He called it all blatant lies, which is hilarious because the story is mostly a list what he has said on national TV and what he has tweeted. All easy to verify.
One thing that pleased me: I was expecting a bunch of centrist liberals to
say that calling King a white supremacist was too harsh; that we should reserve that label for guys with swastika tattoos and white hoods. But that didn’t happen. Everyone agreed that he’s a white supremacist -- which he is.
I also didn’t get trolled by the alt right for this, a seeming admission that yea, King is one of them.
Anything you'd like to add?The RNC and NRCC haven’t said anything! We need to keep an eye on
whether they give King campaign money. Their silence on King makes
them complicit. King is basically the GOP’s uncensored id. They
largely agree with him, they are just less crass about it. PS: Be sure to read our most recent stories about extremism, including this one about a Canadian Muslim man was reportedly called a terrorist and beaten viciously in front of his family. Now the attack is being investigated as a hate crime. And this one on how the Pizzagate pusher Mike Cernovich keeps getting people fired. HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More.The internet's best stories, and interviews with the people who tell them. Like what you see? Forward it to a friend. Or sign up! Can't get enough? Check out our Morning Email. ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
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