Far-right Youtube influencer Brandon Herrera is set to face-off against incumbent US Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) in a primary race Tuesday. The Daily Beast reported in March that "'a Trumpworld source' said Herrera would be 'a disaster for Republicans' if elected."
A Sunday, May 26 Daily Beast article reports the "gunfluencer" — who has over 3 million subscribers — recently "posted to YouTube a video in which he wears a balaclava, fires an Armalite rifle, uses Irish stereotypes while joking about the IRA [Irish Republican Army], and says he 'f–king hate[s] the British.'"
The Beast reports:
The Armalite assault rifle was an American gun that became synonymous with the Provisional Irish Republican Army or IRA, the dominant republican terror group during the Troubles, the period of violent unrest in Northern Ireland and mainland Britain from 1968 to 1998.
The accepted death toll from the Troubles, established in the book Lost Lives by authors David McKittrick, Seamus Kelters, Brian Feeney, Chris Thornton and David McVea, is 3,720. The Provisional IRA killed more than 1,700 people–hundreds of them civilians. According to Ulster University, a college in Northern Ireland, more than 47,000 people were injured in shootings, bombings and other acts of violence.
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Vice president of the gun control group Giffords, Chris Harris, told the Beast, "Brandon Herrera is reckless and dangerous. He gleefully promotes violence and extremism."
The Beast also notes:
Also known as the AK Guy, Herrera has more than 3.4 million followers on YouTube. His videos have courted trouble before. Earlier this year, in response to a video in which Herrera fires a German World War II submachine gun (which he calls 'the original ghetto blaster') and goose-steps while an associate wears a German uniform, Gonzales branded his opponent a 'known neo-Nazi.'
Herrera denied the charge, saying: 'This is the death spiral ladies and gentlemen. He has to cry to his liberal friends about me, because Republicans won’t listen anymore.'
Gonzales's district — which Herrera is vying for — includes Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in 2022.
While the YouTuber has secured support from hardliner GOP lawmakers like US Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Herrera may have hurt his chance of securing a primary win in March when he posted a video making fun of Donald Trump's son, Barron.
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"I’ve heard that Brandon Herrera has a problem with keeping his mouth shut and has a problem with saying stupid stuff, and this is just the tip of the iceberg," a Republican operative told the Beast. "Brandon Herrera is going to have a very bad time over the next couple months if what I’ve heard is true."
Former Anti-Slavery International director Aidan McQuade, who's from Northern Ireland slammed the GOP hopeful "for displaying 'jaw-dropping stupidity'" in the video.
"It is quite an achievement to make a video of which the anti-Irish stereotyping is the least offensive part," McQuade told the Beast.
The Daily Beast's full report is here (subscription required).