Unassigned

Rolling Stone: 'Apparent' Neo-Nazi Now the GOP Nominee for Texas House Seat

Oh, Rolling Stone. Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas indeed withdrew his re-election bid this week after it was revealed that he had an affair with a former staff member. "After deep reflection and with the support of my loving family, I have decided not to seek re-election," Gonzales posted to X on Thursday.

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By Friday, Rolling Stone was reporting that Gonzales was being replaced in the race with an apparent neo-Nazi.

Althea Legaspi reports:

A Texas GOP candidate has drawn scrutiny after video surfaced of him happily boasting about having a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.

Brandon Herrera is the GOP nominee for Texas’ 23rd congressional district after incumbent Tony Gonzales dropped out of his reelection bid following a sex scandal over which MAGA lawmakers called for his resignation. A subsequent ethics investigation ensued after reports surfaced that he had an affair with someone on his staff who later died by suicide.

Meanwhile, Herrera has become the district’s de facto GOP nominee in the wake of Gonzales’ departure from the race. A he firearms manufacturer and YouTuber who’s known on the internet at “The AK Guy.” went viral on Friday after a clip surfaced where he is seen boasting about his copy of Mein Kampf.

It’s not the only time he’s proudly showcased neo-Nazi behavior. In another clip shared on social media by House Majority Pac on Thursday, Herrera is seen goose-stepping to the Nazi marching song “Erika.” On Friday, Herrera doubled down on his stance. I standby it, this shit was funny as hell,” he commented in response to the posted video.

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Yes, he happily boasted about having a copy of Mein Kampf.

Brian Tyler Cohen posted a 19-second excerpt from the podcast and earned himself a Community Note:

Readers added context to this video

The selectively edited clip is from a September 2024 podcast episode where Brandon Herrera and guests mock Mein Kampf as "dog shit," "schizophrenic," and ineffective rhetoric while noting its historical print rarity. He owns it as a collector's item.

Rolling Stone has apparently decided it's lost enough defamation cases, so it slipped in a qualifier.

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Here's 14 minutes, not 19 seconds, of the podcast:

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We were hoping they'd be sued into bankruptcy with their completely fictional account of a campus gang rape. That one cost them quite a lot, but not enough to put them out of business, sadly. It's like they want to be sued.

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