Paul Gosar Faces Questions Over Staffer's Alleged Far-Right Links

Claims that a member of Republican congressman Paul Gosar's staff has "extensive" links to far-right personality Nick Fuentes and his America First movement have raised questions.

A report by the independent news outlet Talking Points Memo on Sunday alleged that the digital director of the Arizona representative, Wade Searle, was a "devotee of Fuentes" who had appeared as a supporter at a rally of his.

Gosar has previously faced criticism for attending Fuentes' conferences and has been accused of promoting antisemitic content—which his team has denied, arguing the congressman is an ardent supporter of Jews.

The latest allegations raise questions as to whether Gosar was aware of any of the alleged links between his staff and Fuentes, the extent to which Searle was or is involved in the America First movement, and how Gosar will respond to the allegations.

U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) speaks at a news conference at the Capitol Building on December 7, 2021, in Washington, D.C. A member of his staff is alleged to be a prominent member of the America First movement. Getty Images/Anna Moneymaker

Newsweek approached Searle and a spokesperson for Gosar via email for comment on Monday.

TPM said it had uncovered an "extensive digital trail" that linked a prominent user in Fuentes' online group to Searle using the handle "Chikken," with assistance from Nick Martin, editor of The Informant news site, and the anonymous author of the Arizona Right Watch newsletter.

While it stressed that it could not definitively link Searle to the accounts and Fuentes, it said the digital information it had uncovered provided "strong evidence" of Searle's involvement. Martin is quoted as describing Chikken as "a dedicated acolyte" of Fuentes.

The website provided still images taken from a live stream of a pro-Trump rally in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 28, 2020, where Fuentes appeared and spoke. It noted that one of the people holding an America First banner behind Fuentes appeared to be Searle, wearing a Make America Great Again hat.

Searle would not work in Gosar's office for another year, becoming a temporary employee in November 2021, then the digital press assistant, and later, the congressman's digital director.

TPM provided a screengrab of a tweet the same day as the event, from a since-deleted Twitter account with the handle TheChickenRight, which showed Fuentes alongside the flag bearer, which read: "After me and another patriot held an AF Flag behind @NickJFuentes, I got a picture, a maga hat signed, and some merch signed. Very surreal, the energy was ecstatic!"

An archived version of the Twitter account from July 11, 2020, shows that the account credits two people by their first name: "Wade," which the news outlet took to be Searle, and another who it claimed was an intern in Gosar's office. It said it was unclear who had posted what on the shared account.

TPM said TheChickenRight account was linked through other social media profiles to Chikken, which it claimed had been a moderator on Fuentes' America First streaming show. In one August 2022 episode, it described the user as one of "the strongest soldiers of the movement." It claimed Chikken was among the accounts to pledge allegiance to Fuentes in May last year.

Nick Fuentes seen during an interview in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 9, 2016. Fuentes, the leader of the America First movement, has been described by hate watchdogs as a white supremacist. AFP via Getty Images/WILLIAM EDWARDS

Responding to the report, Stop Antisemitism, a non-partisan hate watchdog, wrote that it was "not in the least shocked [Gosar's] social media manager is cheerleading for white supremacist Nick Fuentes, someone Gosar shared a stage with."

Fuentes is described by the antisemitism watchdog the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a white supremacist, who, since 2017, has used social media to gain a sizeable following. ADL adds that Fuentes has made "numerous antisemitic and racist comments" and believes that the white population is being destroyed.

According to various reports, Gosar himself appeared at an America First conference in 2021 and sent a video message to the gathering the following year—which attracted criticism from Republican leaders. Politico reported in April 2022 that Gosar had blamed his staff, saying the video had been intended to be sent to another group.

TPM said neither Gosar's team nor Searle had responded to multiple requests for comment.

Gosar recently faced criticism in April, after one of his official newsletters linked to an article by Veterans Today, an outlet that has also published Holocaust denials, which bears a headline containing the phrase "Jewish warmongers."

The newsletter had amended this headline to remove the word "Jewish" from it. His office later provided fact-checking website Snopes with a response which said that Gosar is "well known as one of the top advocates of the State of Israel and a defender of those of the Jewish faith across the world."