MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE EMPLOYED WHITE NATIONALIST COLLABORATOR

A web and graphics designer who collaborated with white nationalist Nick Fuentes worked for pro-Donald Trump lawmaker Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., throughout 2022 and into 2023, a Hatewatch investigation found.

Lance W. Smith, 23, of Melissa, Texas, purchased or managed multiple web domains associated with Fuentes and his “America First” movement, livestreams on Fuentes’ website Cozy.tv under the pseudonym “UX,” and owns a gaming server for Fuentes fans. While associating himself with Fuentes’ wing of the white nationalist movement, Smith received $55,020 from Greene’s congressional campaign between June 24, 2022, and May 1, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records reviewed by Hatewatch. On one page of his online portfolio, Smith said he “oversaw production of the representative’s podcast and managed the creative direction of her campaign.”

Smith advertised multiple “digital assets” that he said he created “for team Trump as he pursues election in 2024” in his online portfolio. However, Hatewatch was unable to identify Smith on the Trump campaign’s payroll in a review of FEC data.

FEC records indicate that Smith began working for Greene’s congressional campaign as a consultant in summer 2022, several months after Greene addressed white nationalists and other far-right extremists at Fuentes’ America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC). (Hatewatch was unable to determine if Smith attended the event.) On June 24, 2022, Greene for Congress paid Smith $3,750 for “digital consulting and production” services. From July 1, 2022, through Nov. 1 the campaign made biweekly disbursements of $1,875to Smith. On Nov. 15, 2022, the biweekly payout amount was increased to $2,710. On Feb. 15, someone changed the description of the disbursements to Smith to read “campaign staff payroll.” Greene for Congress last paid Smith on May 1.

Hatewatch reached out to Smith through an email address listed on his portfolio but did not receive a response.

https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2023/08/02/marjorie-taylor-greene-employed-white-nationalist-collaborator