Extremists, including white supremacists and border livestreamers, have descended on Los Angeles amid the wildfires there to gain followers, sap social media engagement, solicit donations and, experts claim, recruit new members, while in some cases as emergency workers LARP.
This past weekend, Ryan Sánchez and three other members of his Nationalist Network group set up shop at the entrance to Santa Monica Pier. Sánchez, who was caught on video giving a Nazi salute at last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, and his crew drove overnight from Arizona, where they live.
Sánchez, who was a member of the now-defunct white supremacist fight club known as the Rise Above Movement, is an ally of white supremacist Nick Fuentes and is sometimes known by his online moniker “Culture War Criminal.”
Sánchez, who did not respond to WIRED’s requests for comment, claimed on his social media accounts that his group “received much more support than expected” and said that all the donations were given to the Bob Hope Patriotic Hall. a building said to shelter veterans as well as charities involved in military and veterans affairs. (It did not respond to a request to confirm that Sánchez’s group had made donations.)
While Sánchez and his colleagues claim they are in LA to do good, experts who track the activities of far-right groups tell WIRED that they are really engaging in “disaster tourism” to advance their own agenda by appearing to do good for the society.
“Based on a lot of their past activities, it’s probably being used as a recruitment effort, which is something that’s happened a lot more in the last year where far-right groups are involved in disaster tourism,” said Freddy Cruz, the program manager for monitoring and training at Western States Center. “We saw it with Hurricane Helene, and now we’re seeing it again. These groups essentially just travel to disaster areas to create propaganda, solicit donations and in some cases actually steal donations from people on the ground.”
Sánchez said Monday that while his group is no longer collecting goods for the relief effort, it is still interested in meeting potential new recruits.
“We will no longer accept donations tomorrow, but if you are still interested in volunteering, contact us,” Sánchez wrote on Telegram and X on Sunday morning.
A donation link Sánchez posted on his Telegram channel links directly to his personal Cash App account, and it’s unclear where any money donated will go, although Sánchez has suggested it be used to fund his group’s travel and to finance accommodation.
“The crisis in Los Angeles continues, with high winds expected in the coming days. Thanks to your support, the Nationalist Network will be here for our fellow Americans,” Sánchez wrote on his Telegram and X accounts on Monday, before asking for further donations “if you want to help feed and fight our activists keep.”
As well as Sánchez and the Nationalist Network, several MAGA live streamers have traveled to LA in recent days to begin posting content from the aftermath of the fires while simultaneously soliciting money from their followers.