Marjorie Taylor Greene defends herself for attending white nationalist conference

Georgia congresswoman says she attended Nick Fuentes' far-right conference Friday night to "talk to the audience"

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published February 26, 2022 2:54PM (EST)

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to a reporter after a news conference outside U.S. Supreme Court on July 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Republican legislator filed a lawsuit against Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her mask mandate inside the House chamber that caused “segregation” among lawmakers. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speaks to a reporter after a news conference outside U.S. Supreme Court on July 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. The Republican legislator filed a lawsuit against Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her mask mandate inside the House chamber that caused “segregation” among lawmakers. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

On Friday night, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attended a white nationalist conference in Orlando, and then came to her own defense on Saturday, saying she had been there to "talk to the audience."

Greene doubled down on her defense, which was part of a statement given in a recorded interview to CBS News correspondent Robert Costa, saying she does not personally know Nick Fuentes, the white nationalist leader who organized the event in question, held on Friday night at the Orlando World Center Marriott.

 "I don't know what his views are, so I'm not aligned with anything that may be controversial," Greene said. "I went to his event last night to address his very large following because that is a young, very young, following and a generation I am extremely concerned about."

Related: White women and fascism: Seyward Darby on how right-wing women embrace their "symbolic power"

Fuentes, host of the white nationalist conference that Greene was seen at, was subpoenaed last month by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to The Hill. During the conference on Friday Greene was photographed shaking the hand of Fuentes, as reported in The Hill's coverage. 


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"In any other world, Greene speaking at a white supremacist conference where attendees have defended Vladimir Putin and praised Adolf Hitler would warrant expulsion from the caucus, to say nothing of her advocacy for violence and consistent anti-Semitism is disgusting," DNC spokesman Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

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By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has been featured in Vulture, The A.V. Club, Vanity Fair, Cosmopolitan, Nylon, Vice, and elsewhere.

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