The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here to get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
‘LOG OFF’: Right-wing divided over X reinstatement of accused underage groomer Ali Alexander
Ali Alexander, a Republican operative who was involved in organizing the Stop the Steal rally the morning of the Jan 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. capitol, had his X account restored over the weekend—and immediately faced a stream of messages from posters telling him to log off over allegations that he’d tried to groom teenage boys.
Alexander came back onto the platform on Saturday with a laconic post of an emoji with an expressionless face, which was flooded by posters bringing up the allegations.
“Log off FOREVER,” posted @Kaizerrev.
“Go touch more little boys in your basement you pedo,” wrote @strides29.
Rumors about Alexander swirled online for months before two men came forward last spring detailing inappropriate messages he’d sent them, including flirty messages and requests for sexual videos in exchange for promised clout and jobs in politics.
“You don’t even send me videos anymore,” Alexander wrote in one message to Aidan Duncan, a then-reportedly 15-year-old boy from Colorado who was involved in Hitler-fan Nick Fuentes’ America First movement. “No good jack off material. Don’t even wanna be my side piece. But I understand.”
Duncan claimed last year that those messages, which were sent in 2017, were authentic. The Daily Dot exclusively reported that Duncan had reported Alexander to the Johnstown Police Department in Colorado, and that the department had opened an investigation into Alexander. The Johnstown Police Department hasn’t confirmed whether the case is still active today, or what the state of the case is.
Alexander has ignored the allegations, which provoked more discussion online last week after a resurfaced video showed that Fuentes, who once claimed to have drummed Alexander out of the racist, antisemitic movement he calls America First, had knowledge about the allegations earlier than he’s publicly claimed. When the allegations first went public, Alexander alleged in a statement that he’d battled with “same-sex attraction,” but avoided addressing them directly.
And despite the allegations that Fuentes knew about Alexander’s behavior, that didn’t stop Alexander’s posts from being flooded with comments reminding him about it by some of Fuentes’ own fans, who posted screenshots of a message from Fuentes saying to “log off forever.”
But other posters replied with screenshots pointing out the hypocrisy, showing Fuentes posing with Alexander and lavishing him with praise.
“Thank you to Black Christian Patriots like Ye, Candace Owens, Bryson Gray, Jason Whitlock, Ali Alexander, and Tenyro for speaking the truth!” Fuentes is shown saying on Telegram under a picture of himself posing with Alexander. “Greatest allies ❤️”
While many of the comments referenced the allegations against Alexander, others appeared to show support for the right-wing figure's return. It remains to be seen whether the accusations against Alexander will have any hindrance as he attempts to return to relevancy among the far-right.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post ‘LOG OFF’: Right-wing divided over X reinstatement of accused underage groomer Ali Alexander appeared first on The Daily Dot.