Is Patriot Front a Real Thing?

Worst Nazis ever

For a while now, groups of masked guys in blue jackets, khaki pants, khaki baseball hats, and sunglasses have been showing up at various protests here and there. Apparently they’re called Patriot Front, and I’d never heard of them until a couple of months ago. They’re supposed to be Nazis or white nationalists or something bad like that, and we’re supposed to be very frightened of them.

The whole thing feels like some sort of prank or hoax to me, and the latest “news” about Patriot Front is a case in point:

Mikael Thalen @MikaelThalen

Patriot Front had its data leaked. This video sums them up pretty nicely: Camera on: We aren’t Nazis! Camera off: “Seig fucking Heil, let’s fucking go! I can say that now that it’s (the video) over.”

“How do ya do, fellow Nazis?”

Whenever a piece of evidence seems tailor-made to confirm my biases, I’m skeptical. Sure, this could be a real video. There are also chat logs and other stuff that supposedly leaked from this group. But the whole thing seems stagey. Manufactured. A put-on.

A lot of people seem to think Patriot Front is a bunch of federal agents, but I’m not willing to go that far yet. It just feels like a prank to me.

It certainly wouldn’t be the first time the media fell for a hoax. It wouldn’t even be the thousandth time. If a few nerds could convince the whole world that the OK sign was suddenly a symbol of white power — it’s not, by the way — why wouldn’t they make up a fake Neo-Nazi group to mess with people?

It reminds me of that nonsense we saw in Virginia last October:

Elizabeth Holmes @holmes_reports

These men approached @GlennYoungkin’s bus as it pulled up saying what sounded like, “We’re all in for Glenn.” Here they are standing in front of the bus as his campaign event at Guadalajara started.@NBC29

The same baseball caps and khakis and sunglasses as Patriot Front. And it was fake as hell.

John McCormack @McCormackJohn

Lincoln Project claims credit for the "white supremacist" stunt at Youngkin's campaign event today.

Führer me once, shame on you. Führer me twice, shame on me.

Or, I could be wrong and Patriot Front could be as real as death and taxes. They could be every bit as dangerous as our moral, ethical, and intellectual betters in the press keep telling us they are. The future of the republic could very well be at stake.

If that’s the case, then these dorks picked the dumbest-looking uniform possible. They’re just not threatening at all. Say what you want about the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, but at least they had some intimidating uniforms. These schlubs look like they just got done raking some leaves so Mom will let them play Fortnite.

Aren’t Nazis supposed to be scary?