A neo-Nazi movement known as the “Groypers,” headed by extremist Nazi Nick Fuentes, is expanding its influence among young Republican staffers and activists in Washington, with up to 40% of young GOP staffers belonging to the group, according to multiple accounts from DC insiders.
Conservative author and commentator Rod Dreher reported this week that the groyper movement “is real” and “has infiltrated young conservative Washington networks to a significant degree.” In his words, “Irrational hatred of Jews (and other races, but especially Jews) is a central core of it. This is evil.”
Dreher’s observations follow growing concern among GOP officials about Fuentes-aligned activists entering mainstream conservative institutions through internships, fellowships, and youth organizations. One political consultant familiar with several Hill offices said the movement’s reach is “wider than anyone wants to admit” and that “they’re organized, disciplined, and patient.”
In his Substack post, Dreher described conversations with Washington insiders who estimate that “between 30 and 40 percent” of Republican staffers under the age of 30 are sympathetic to Groyper ideology. He warned that the movement “cannot be negotiated with, because it doesn’t have traditional demands. It wants to burn the whole system down.”
As Michelle Goldberg wrote for the New York Times, much of the rise of Groypers comes in the wake of the void left by the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the succession debate that follows his death.
Dreher wrote that the movement’s rise is fueled by cultural alienation and resentment. “This malign movement didn’t just appear from nowhere,” he said. “There are within it legitimate grievances. And, as I keep saying, it emerged in a culture that… is primed to believe totalitarian things.”
He warned that its growth could have major political consequences. “This has the potential to destroy conservatism politically,” he wrote. “A white nationalist party that demonizes non-whites who would otherwise be drawn to a conservative message will alienate those voters. Even if all whites voted for the white nationalist party, it still wouldn’t win.”
Dreher also raised alarm about the spread of antisemitic ideas among young religious conservatives. “Anti-Semitism is spreading like a virus among religious conservatives of the Zoomer generation,” he wrote. “They’re getting it through online influencers, but apparently their pastors and parents are either not fighting back, or have lost authority in the minds of these young people.”
He reported hearing from multiple young Christians that “Zoomer trad Catholics are making antisemitism part of their spirituality,” adding that similar trends exist among Orthodox and Protestant youth. “Putting aside politics,” he wrote, “this is total spiritual poison.”
The recent announcement out of the Heritage Foundation, in which Kevin Roberts has refused to distance the organization from Tucker Carlson, despite Carlson’s embrace of Nick Fuentes, is a further sign of how deep the influence of Fuentes and his Groypers has reached inside Washington.
