Rep. Paul Gosar blasted by Jewish groups after 2 staffers linked to white supremacist

Two young staffers for Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar are close adherents of white-supremacist commentator Nick Fuentes, according to a published report.

It's the third time in recent weeks Gosar's office has been linked to antisemitism, and continues a series of events going back to 2021 in which the Arizona Republican is facing difficult questions from the Jewish community.

Talking Points Memo, a New York and Washington, D.C.,-based political website, first reported the news about Gosar's staffers Sunday evening. Gosar's office did not respond to requests for comment from The Arizona Republic or from Talking Points Memo, nor did the office respond to a question about the staffers' ongoing employment.

In a detailed investigation, Talking Points Memo showed that Wade Searle and Landen Petersen jointly ran Twitter, Gab and Instagram accounts using alternate versions of the name "Chikken" as a alias.

The accounts routinely used stereotypes to disparage minorities and Jewish people, including one time in 2021 when the author or authors referenced "hook-nosed bankers" and another that declared "The liberal apparatus encourages murderous, violent, genocidal behavior to resentful non-whites (of which they import millions every year) with 24/7 constant genocidal anti-White rhetoric."

"If true, it's deeply disturbing that (Gosar's) digital director is reportedly behind a secret 'Groyper army' account and an active supporter of white supremacist leader Nick Fuentes. This needs a full investigation. Hate and extremism have no place in government — at any level," the Anti-Defamation League tweeted Monday.

Because they ran the accounts anonymously, it is unclear who specifically wrote each individual post on the sites.

Searle has worked in Gosar's office since November 2021, the year he graduated high school, while Petersen is an intern in the office.

The stranger question the report raises is the relationship between Gosar and Fuentes, who is widely known as someone who spreads hate and advocates violence. Fuentes' Youtube channel was suspended for violating the hate speech policies. His followers refer to themselves as "Groypers."

Politico reported a year ago that Gosar blamed a staffer for providing a welcome message for Fuentes' America First Political Action Conference in Orlando. He said it was supposed to go to another conservative group.

Gosar appeared at a conference with Fuentes in 2021 and then appeared by video the following year, later calling that a mistake.

“It wasn't supposed to go to Nick’s group,” Gosar told Politico of the video message of the congressman shown at Fuentes' event. He said the staffer “misconstrued” directions from Tom Van Flein, his chief of staff.

Gosar also said he didn't know about Fuentes' divisive background before appearing at AFPAC in 2021, when he was the first sitting member of Congress to do so.

"The young people that were being misled by somebody — we should be trying to mentor, trying to change them. I've given up … on dealing with Nick. Nick's got a problem with his mouth.”

The Talking Points Memo story uncovered social media posts from the "Chikken" alias run by Searle and/or Petersen last year that tried to calm down members of Fuentes' "Groyper" group and assure them that despite Gosar's comments about Fuentes, the congressman was still supportive of that ideology.

In the recent past, including in April when his weekly newsletter linked to a racist website, Gosar has issued statements reaffirming his support for Jewish people when faced with accusations he has ties to antisemitism.

“The congressman has a long record as a defender of the state of Israel and a defender of people of the Jewish faith,” a Gosar spokesperson said in April.

"It’s neither shocking nor surprising that Rep. Gosar would employ an anti-Semitic, racist staffer in his congressional office," said Alan Zeichick, board chairman for the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Phoenix in a written statement. "Rep. Gosar remains an embarrassment to the State of Arizona. As Maya Angelou said, 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.' This certainly isn’t the first time Rep. Gosar has embraced neo-Nazis. We presume it won’t be the last."

Even if Gosar's staff issued a statement again denouncing Fuentes or claiming to affirm his support for the Jewish people, it would be meaningless at this point, said Paul Rockower, executive director of the JCRC.

"We are tired of his gaslighting. There have been way too many of these incidents for us to believe it and we don't accept it," Rockower said.

Gosar spoke at an event celebrating Israel's 75th birthday in April, sparking a discussion as to whether Gosar's record of supporting Jewish causes outweighed his associations with white supremacists.

Then in early May, Gosar was on the agenda for an event headlined by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has said things like Europeans should not "become peoples of mixed race."

Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Gosar staffers linked to white supremacist Nick Fuentes