Who Is Behind The Million MAGA March?

President Donald Trump may have lost a second White House term last week, but his far right and white nationalist supporters aren’t going to leave quietly — and they’re taking their cues directly from the president. A coalition of far right extremists, including fascists, white nationalists, and militia groups, are expected to attend a pro-Trump rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports. The event could be the largest gathering of far right and white nationalist groups since the so-called Unite the Right rally in 2017. 

The “March for Trump” or “Million MAGA March” is being billed as a “Stop the Steal” event — a title coined by Trump ally Roger Stone to defend Trump’s primary nomination during the president’s 2016 campaign.

So who is behind the so-called Million MAGA March?

Well, a coalition of far right and pro-Trump groups have organized a series of “Stop the Steal” rallies and a caravan from Baton Rouge, LA to Tallahassee, FL to Washington, D.C. in an effort to rally around the president, who falsely declared victory in the presidential election and continues to claim — without evidence — that the election was rigged.

While Trump has never disavowed the uptick of white nationalist organizing since he took office — even refusing to denounce hate groups like the Proud Boys when specifically asked — it is still troubling to see his administration openly encouraging the event. 

Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller wrote on Twitter that he loves “the outpouring of support for” the president. Meanwhile, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News on Thursday that she expected turnout for the event to be “quite large,” and added, “People want to show up and have their voice heard.” 

Even the president is full-on embracing support from the far right hate groups that organized the rally. “Heartwarming to see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Rallies that are springing up all over the Country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C.,” Trump wrote on Twitter Friday. “I may even try to stop by and say hello.” 

Prominent white nationalist leaders like Nick Fuentes, who attended the deadly far right rally in Charlottesville, have amplified the event and organized the caravan to D.C. along with Infowars’ Alex Jones. The far right street gang the Proud Boys and the anti-government Boogaloo Bois, along with far-right militias the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters, are all expected to make an appearance in D.C. on Saturday, the antifascist news site It's Going Down reports. 

But, as these things go, antifascist and anti-racist organizers in the city won't let the far right mobilize without a fight. The loosely organized group "All Out DC" is planning a counter-demonstration of its own, and encouraged people over Twitter to come out and defend the city "from white nationalism and secure a trump-free future." Don't give fascism an inch, as the saying goes.