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The far-right is less organized, but more dangerous
The disintegration of white nationalist groups post-Charlottesville may partly explain the surge in violence
The high-water mark for the alt-right was 2017. Following Trump’s election on an anti-immigration platform, there was a sense within the movement that its moment had finally arrived. Expecting to transition from fringe gadfly to legitimate lobbyist, Richard Spencer, the de facto leader of the alt-right, moved to a D.C. suburb just a few days before Trump’s inauguration. “We’re basically becoming part of the establishment, so it only makes sense to have a presence here in Washington,” he told a Washington Post reporter.
At the time, Spencer giddily dreamed of ways to build on the momentum. He was hosting press conferences in the spacious living room of his Alexandria flat and claimed to be receiving 40 media requests per day. To grow the movement, he planned to embark on a speaking tour and launch a series of online platforms—he even pondered a run for the House of Representatives.
But just seven months later, the alt-right would flame out spectacularly in the wake of a disastrous rally that was intended to be a show of strength. The ironically named Unite the Right march in Charlottesville precipitated the disintegration of the…
