Christopher Cantwell, the “crying Nazi” who helped organize the 2017 “Unite The Right” rally in Charlottesville that left one dead and many others injured, is currently preparing for trial by *checks notes* watching Tucker Carlson on TV.
Cantwell is just one of 24 white supremacists being sued by the victims of the violent rally, but while most of his racist cohorts have been able to find legal representation, he’s had trouble retaining a lawyer. Apparently, he’s proved so difficult to represent that both of his previous lawyers have dropped him and he can’t find anyone else to take the job. That means Cantwell will be defending himself in court and, to prep for that, he’s been taking notes from one of his media idols, Tucker Carlson.
Cantwell has specifically cited Carlson in previous filings and, according to Buzzfeed News, his fellow inmates say he’s been “emboldened by the polarizing messages emanating from Fox News.”
Jarrett William Smith is one such inmate, a fellow white supremacist who’s been helping Cantwell craft a legal defense since no respectable, practicing attorney will. Smith told Buzzfeed News that, after the group, known as “the whites,” finishes their legal work for the day, they gather around the TV to watch Carlson’s show. In a 2019 filing, Cantwell wrote that his case is “motivated by a desire to silence not only me and my associates but anyone who might dare to agree with us even on peripheral issues. This is evidenced by the President of the United States, and the 2nd most popular show in cable news (Tucker Carlson) being branded as ‘White Nationalists’ on account of sharing a small number of our views on the pressing issues of our time.”
We assume Carlson must be thrilled to his diversity-hating bones to know he’s got a bunch of white supremacist groupies simping for him behind bars, but we don’t think channeling a TV personality whose main schtick is to scream rhetorical questions is the best strategy for mounting a trial defense.
(Via Buzzfeed News)