At least 22 individuals and groups, most with extremist pro-Trump sympathies, received roughly $US520,000 ($669,240) in bitcoin a month before the violent siege on the U.S. Capitol that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to a new report from Yahoo News. And while there’s no evidence that the Dec. 8 distribution of funds has any direct ties to last week’s coup attempt, the timing is raising plenty of questions.
The 28.15 bitcoins were all distributed by one entity linked to a French cryptocurrency exchange and were divided among people and websites like neo-Nazi website the Daily Stormer, anti-immigration hate site VDARE, the far-right social network Gab, and the video sharing site Bitchute, based on a report from the blockchain research firm Chainalysis.
The person that researchers at Chanalysis believe sent the money to these far right groups published a blog on December 9 that includes something written “like an apparent suicide note.” However, Chanalysis couldn’t confirm the man had actually taken his life. Chainalysis doesn’t identify the author of the note, but it did publish a large portion of the letter on its own website. Chainalysis did not immediately respond to an email early Friday.
Chainalysis also posted a pie graph on Twitter showing a breakdown of where the bitcoin from this mysterious benefactor actually went before he supposedly popped his clogs. Almost half of the $US520,000 ($669,240) was sent to Nicholas Fuentes, a far-right internet personality who was booted from YouTube in Feb. 2020 for Holocaust denial and other conspiracy theories. Fuentes was near the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6. for Trump’s neo-fascist rally but denies entering the building.
“I say that we should not leave this Capitol until Donald Trump is inaugurated president,” Fuentes said on January 5, according to Michigan-based news outlet MLive. “We the American people, will not let this fraudulent election go forward one more step.”
Fuentes also made incendiary comments on his livestream in the lead up to the attack on the Capitol, including talk of killing lawmakers who oppose Trump.
“Why, because we had no leverage, what are we going to do? What can you and I do to a state legislator, besides kill them?” Fuentes said on Jan 4 during another livestream. “Although we should not do that. I’m not advising that, but I mean, what else can you do, right?”
Fuentes did not respond to a message sent early Friday.
Other far right figures who received Bitcoin in the donation include Patrick Casey, Vincent Reynouard, and Ethan Ralph, as well as platforms and websites like the Daily Stormer, VDARE, and Gab. https://t.co/LznOztFphH pic.twitter.com/tgTjbvVlnQ
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) January 14, 2021
Other recipients of the money, according to Chainalysis, include Patrick Casey, Ethan Ralph, the Unz Review, Vincent Reynourard, Lukesmith.xyz, and ruqqus.com.
VDARE, run by a former writer for the far-right news site Daily Caller, seems to have received roughly 3.3% of the total donation, which means the site would’ve gotten just over $US17,000 ($21,879) based on bitcoin prices in early December.
Daily Stormer is perhaps the best known website on the list, if only because it’s one of the most popular neo-Nazi websites on the web. Founded in 2013 by Andrew Anglin, the site has been booted from a number of platforms over the years and had trouble finding hosting services. But this garbage hub of neo-Nazi filth appears to be up and working at the time of this writing.
The FBI did not respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment on Saturday and it would likely decline to speak about any potential ongoing investigation even if it did get back to us. But if you take a look at the entities Chainalysis does business with, it’s probably a safe bet that the feds have already been given a heads up.
From a Chainalysis press release:
Chainalysis is a strategic partner to governments agencies and private sector businesses across the world, providing data, software, and expertise on compliance and sophisticated cryptocurrency crime and money laundering tactics, techniques, and procedures.
If that sounds generic enough that you’re starting to think these guys might work with the country’s top spies, you’re probably right. According to publicly available contracting records, Chainalysis has done plenty of work with America’s three-letter agencies.
Better get a clean diaper, Fuentes. The US feds are almost certainly all over your Holocaust-denying shit.