Examine individual changes

'{{About|the neo-Nazi|the filmmaker|Christopher Cantwell (filmmaker)}} {{short description|American neo-Nazi}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}} {{Infobox person | name = Christopher Cantwell | image = ChrisCantwell-2014.png | alt = Still image from a video of Cantwell, who is wearing a black and white striped polo shirt and looking down at a cell phone in his hand. | caption = Cantwell in 2014 | birth_name = Christopher Charles Cantwell | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1980|11|12}} | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | other_names = The Crying Nazi<ref name=splc-crying/><ref name= NewsweekCrying/><ref name="Fox-Crying"/> | occupation = [[Podcast]] and radio host, writer | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = ''Radical Agenda'' | criminal_charges = [[Extortion]], [[Threat|threatening]] | criminal_status = Found guilty on September 28, 2020<br/>Pending sentencing }} '''Christopher Charles Cantwell''' (born November 12, 1980), also known as '''The Crying Nazi''',<ref name=splc-crying>{{cite web |url= https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/29/crying-nazi-charlottesville-admits-he-working-feds |title= The 'Crying Nazi' from Charlottesville admits he is working with the feds |last= Lenz |first= Ryan |date= March 29, 2018 |work= [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] |accessdate= July 16, 2018 |archive-date= July 17, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180717012849/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/29/crying-nazi-charlottesville-admits-he-working-feds |url-status= live }}</ref><ref name= NewsweekCrying/><ref name="Fox-Crying"/> is an American [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]], [[Antisemitic canard|antisemitic conspiracy theorist]], federal [[informant]], and convicted [[Felony|felon]].<ref name="splc-crying" /><ref name=":13">{{Cite web|last=Madani|first=Doha|date=September 28, 2020|title='Crying Nazi' Christopher Cantwell found guilty of extortion in rape threat case|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell-found-guilty-extortion-rape-threat-case-n1241263|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002095927/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell-found-guilty-extortion-rape-threat-case-n1241263|archive-date=October 2, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=[[NBC News]]|language=en}}</ref>{{refn|<ref name="businessinsider-cantwell" /><ref name="CNN surrender">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/23/us/urgent--christopher-cantwell-surrenders/index.html|title=White supremacist Christopher Cantwell surrenders to police|last1=Simon|first1=Darran|last2=Flores|first2=Rosa|date=August 24, 2017|publisher=[[CNN]]|accessdate=September 11, 2017|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912060114/http://www.cnn.com/2017/08/23/us/urgent--christopher-cantwell-surrenders/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT WS">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/us/christopher-cantwell-charlottesville.html|title=Christopher Cantwell, White Nationalist in Vice Video, Braces for Charges|last1=Stevens|first1=Matt|date=August 21, 2017|website=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=September 11, 2017|archive-date=September 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907184602/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/21/us/christopher-cantwell-charlottesville.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="vice-cantwell">{{cite web|url=https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror|title=Charlottesville: Race and Terror|date=August 16, 2017|website=[[Vice News]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202190245/https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Facebook-bans" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crying-neo-nazi-christopher-cantwell-guilty-of-assault-in-charlottesville-rally_n_5b53698de4b0de86f48d930e|title=Crying Neo-Nazi Chris Cantwell Pleads Guilty To Assault At Charlottesville Rally|last=Murdock|first=Sebastian|date=July 21, 2018|website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en|access-date=April 13, 2019|archive-date=April 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413170244/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crying-neo-nazi-christopher-cantwell-guilty-of-assault-in-charlottesville-rally_n_5b53698de4b0de86f48d930e|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacists-cryptocurrency-monero-bitcoin-861104|title=White supremacists are investing in a cryptocurrency that promises to be completely untraceable|last=Hayden|first=Michael Edison|date=March 27, 2018|website=[[Newsweek]]|language=en-US|access-date=April 13, 2019|archive-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407152515/https://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacists-cryptocurrency-monero-bitcoin-861104|url-status=live}}</ref>}} A member of the broader [[alt-right]] movement, Cantwell earned attention during and immediately after his participation in the August 2017 [[Unite the Right rally]] in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]].{{refn|<ref name="vice-cantwell2">{{cite web|url=https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror|title=Charlottesville: Race and Terror|date=August 16, 2017|website=[[Vice News]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202190245/https://news.vice.com/story/vice-news-tonight-full-episode-charlottesville-race-and-terror|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Facebook-bans">{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/3e725b8c8f62460cb71d576edc6ca61c|title=Facebook bans white nationalist's accounts over hate speech|date=August 16, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2019|work=[[Associated Press]]|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214152956/https://www.apnews.com/3e725b8c8f62460cb71d576edc6ca61c|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="adl2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/from-alt-right-to-alt-lite-naming-the-hate|title=From Alt Right to Alt Lite: Naming the Hate|website=[[Anti-Defamation League]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024230932/https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/from-alt-right-to-alt-lite-naming-the-hate|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wapo-cantwell-banned2">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/silicon-valley-escalates-its-war-on-white-supremacy-despite-free-speech-concerns/2017/08/16/842771b8-829b-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html|title=Silicon Valley escalates its war on white supremacy despite free speech concerns|last1=Jan|first1=Tracy|last2=Dwoskin|first2=Elizabeth|date=August 16, 2017|accessdate=August 17, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-date=January 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103121925/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/silicon-valley-escalates-its-war-on-white-supremacy-despite-free-speech-concerns/2017/08/16/842771b8-829b-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/08/17/okcupid-kicks-out-white-supremacist-chris-cantwell-there-is-no-room-for-hate/|title=OkCupid kicks out white supremacist Chris Cantwell: 'There is no room for hate'|last1=Bonos|first1=Lisa|date=August 17, 2017|work=[[The Washington Post]]|accessdate=August 19, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818144755/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/08/17/okcupid-kicks-out-white-supremacist-chris-cantwell-there-is-no-room-for-hate/|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Cantwell was featured prominently in a ''[[Vice News Tonight]]'' documentary about the rally and its participants, in which he is shown threatening to kill protesters, wielding rifles and a handgun, and joining fellow antisemitic conspiracy theorists in marching with [[Tiki torch|tiki torches]], chanting "Jews will not replace us!"<ref name="vice-cantwell" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite web|url=https://splinternews.com/crying-nazi-banned-from-virginia-for-5-years-1827776742|title='Crying Nazi' Banned From Virginia for 5 Years|last=Boddiger|first=David|date=July 21, 2018|website=[[Splinter News]]|access-date=April 14, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428121439/https://splinternews.com/crying-nazi-banned-from-virginia-for-5-years-1827776742|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Shortly after the rally, Cantwell published a video in which he wept while sharing that he had learned there was a [[Arrest warrant|warrant for his arrest]]. The video went [[Viral video|viral]], with some observers noting the discrepancy between the emotional video and the tough persona Cantwell had projected in the ''Vice'' documentary.<ref name=":8" /> He has since been widely referred to and ridiculed as "The Crying Nazi".{{refn|name="crying-group-ref"|<ref name="splc-crying" /><ref name="NewsweekCrying">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/christopher-cantwell-charlottesville-crying-nazi-wants-sympathy-jail-657675|title=Christopher Cantwell, the Charlottesville 'Crying Nazi,' Wants Your Sympathy From Jail|last=Marcin|first=Tim|date=August 31, 2017|work=[[Newsweek]]|accessdate=September 18, 2017|archive-date=September 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917132849/http://www.newsweek.com/christopher-cantwell-charlottesville-crying-nazi-wants-sympathy-jail-657675|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fox-Crying" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/crying-nazi-barred-from-virginia-after-pleading-guilty-to-assault-during-charlottesville-rally/2018/07/20/164480a4-8c5f-11e8-81bf-28c7cd96bbc2_story.html|title='Crying Nazi' pleads guilty to assault committed during Charlottesville rally|last=Moyer|first=Justin Wm.|date=July 20, 2018|work=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323144718/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/crying-nazi-barred-from-virginia-after-pleading-guilty-to-assault-during-charlottesville-rally/2018/07/20/164480a4-8c5f-11e8-81bf-28c7cd96bbc2_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="SalonC">{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2017/08/24/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell-gives-himself-up-to-police/|title="Crying Nazi" Christopher Cantwell gives himself up to police|last=Rozsa|first=Matthew|date=August 24, 2017|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|accessdate=September 18, 2017|archive-date=September 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922145242/http://www.salon.com/2017/08/24/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell-gives-himself-up-to-police/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Huff crying">{{cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell_us_59a79063e4b0a8d145731749|title=Christopher Cantwell Really Hates Being Called The Crying Nazi|last=Mazza|first=Ed|date=August 31, 2017|work=[[HuffPost]]|accessdate=September 18, 2017|archive-date=September 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919214830/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell_us_59a79063e4b0a8d145731749|url-status=live}}</ref>}} In July 2018, Cantwell was convicted on two counts of [[misdemeanor]] assault and battery for [[pepper spray]]ing two people at the rally.<ref name=":4" /> On September 28, 2020, Cantwell was found guilty on one felony count of transmitting [[Extortion|extort]] communications and one felony count of threatening to injure property or reputation.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=Sargent|first=Hilary|date=September 28, 2020|title=Christopher Cantwell guilty of extortion and threats|url=https://www.informant.news/p/christopher-cantwell-guilty-of-extortion|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928144945/https://www.informant.news/p/christopher-cantwell-guilty-of-extortion|archive-date=September 28, 2020|access-date=September 28, 2020|website=The Informant}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=September 28, 2020|title=Keene Man Convicted of Extortion and Threat Offenses|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/keene-man-convicted-extortion-and-threat-offenses|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930064907/https://www.justice.gov/usao-nh/pr/keene-man-convicted-extortion-and-threat-offenses|archive-date=September 30, 2020|access-date=September 28, 2020|website=The United States Attorney's Office, District of New Hampshire|publisher=[[United States Department of Justice]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> The charges stemmed from [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]] messages Cantwell sent to a member of a rival neo-Nazi group, in which he threatened to rape the man's wife in front of his children if he did not give Cantwell information about the identity of another member of the group.<ref name="Huff-extort">{{Cite web|last=Mathias|first=Christopher|date=January 23, 2020|title='Crying Nazi' Christopher Cantwell Arrested In Attempt To Extort Information About Rival Nazi|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christopher-cantwell-arrested-crying-nazi_n_5e29e32ec5b6779e9c2f5f17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126062013/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/christopher-cantwell-arrested-crying-nazi_n_5e29e32ec5b6779e9c2f5f17|archive-date=January 26, 2020|access-date=January 24, 2020|website=[[HuffPost]]|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> == Life == Cantwell grew up in [[Stony Brook, New York]]. His father was an air traffic controller and his mother a homemaker.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/christopher-cantwell|title=Christopher Cantwell|website=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320222210/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/christopher-cantwell|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="patch">{{cite web|url=https://patch.com/new-hampshire/milford-nh/video-self-proclaimed-fascist-keene-talk-host-crying-goes-viral|title=Video of Self-Proclaimed Fascist, Keene Talk Host Crying Goes Viral|last=Schinella|first=Tony|date=August 16, 2017|work=[[Patch (website)|Patch]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817205905/https://patch.com/new-hampshire/milford-nh/video-self-proclaimed-fascist-keene-talk-host-crying-goes-viral|url-status=live}}</ref> His maternal grandmother was opera singer Lillian Trotta, nee Ventimiglia, who sang under the stage name [[Lillian Raymondi]]. Cantwell has a younger brother as well as a half-brother and a half-sister, the latter two stemming from a previous relationship of his father.<ref name="Vice2018">{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCjWFbI2-Kk&t=2h59m11s&bpctr=1603310232|title=Chris Cantwell FULL Interview with VICE ∎ HBO - Charlottesville - Alt Right|date=September 14, 2018|type=video|language=en|time=2:59:11–3:03:01}}</ref> He attended [[Ward Melville High School]] in [[East Setauket, New York]].<ref name="newsday.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/christopher-cantwell-white-nationalist-in-va-protest-sought-to-run-for-congress-1.14074717|title=White nationalist sought to run for Congress|last=Schwartz|first=David M.|date=August 18, 2017|website=[[Newsday]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305150454/https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/christopher-cantwell-white-nationalist-in-va-protest-sought-to-run-for-congress-1.14074717|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2012, Cantwell moved to [[Keene, New Hampshire]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name="sentinelsource">{{cite web|url=http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/white-nationalist-from-keene-claims-there-is-a-warrant-out/article_d894995e-a71f-5a87-9396-f93b2366b9e3.html|title=White nationalist from Keene claims there is a warrant out for his arrest|last1=Landen|first1=Xander|last2=Whitmore|first2=Steven|date=August 16, 2017|website=SentinelSource.com|access-date=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817030637/http://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/white-nationalist-from-keene-claims-there-is-a-warrant-out/article_d894995e-a71f-5a87-9396-f93b2366b9e3.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Cantwell has worked as an overnight [[technical support]] provider, and later started his own computer consulting business.<ref name=":10">{{Cite web|last=Sargent|first=Hilary|date=September 21, 2020|title=How Christopher Cantwell crumbled|url=https://www.informant.news/p/how-christopher-cantwell-crumbled|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922221547/https://www.informant.news/p/how-christopher-cantwell-crumbled|archive-date=September 22, 2020|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=The Informant}}</ref> == Ideology and politics == Cantwell has described himself as a member of the [[alt-right]], a [[Fascism|fascist]], and a [[Libertarianism in the United States|libertarian]].<ref name="patch" /><ref name=":5">{{cite web|url=http://www.news12.com/story/36153205/fascist-leader-in-vice-news-piece-is-from-suffolk-county|title=Fascist leader in Vice News piece is from Suffolk County|date=August 16, 2017|website=News 12|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190311082024/http://www.news12.com/story/36153205/fascist-leader-in-vice-news-piece-is-from-suffolk-county|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cantwell-on-libertarianism">{{cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2017/03/07/libertarians-and-the-alt-right-2/|title=Libertarians and the Alt Right|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=March 7, 2017|accessdate=August 17, 2017|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817205743/https://christophercantwell.com/2017/03/07/libertarians-and-the-alt-right-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Why I Consider Myself Alt Right">{{cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2017/08/17/consider-alt-right/|title=Why I Consider Myself Alt Right|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=August 17, 2017|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214153104/https://christophercantwell.com/2017/08/17/consider-alt-right/|archive-date=February 14, 2019|access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref> The [[Anti-Defamation League]] includes Cantwell in its list of alt-right figures,<ref name="adl">{{Cite web|url=https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/from-alt-right-to-alt-lite-naming-the-hate|title=From Alt Right to Alt Lite: Naming the Hate|website=[[Anti-Defamation League]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=October 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024230932/https://www.adl.org/education/resources/backgrounders/from-alt-right-to-alt-lite-naming-the-hate|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] has profiled Cantwell, describing him as "an anti-Semitic, Alt-Right shock jock and an unapologetic fascist, who spews white nationalist propaganda with a libertarian spin".<ref name=":1" /> By Cantwell's own account, he was originally "radicalized" to libertarianism in 2009 after listening to a presentation by former [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] presidential candidate [[Michael Badnarik]].<ref name="Why I Consider Myself Alt Right" /> In 2009 he announced he would be running as a Libertarian Party candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 1st District, but he did not collect enough signatures to get on the ballot.<ref name="newsday.com" /> He has been repeatedly kicked out of libertarian organizations for his violent and racist views.<ref name=":1" /> Cantwell has held strong anti-police views, including advocating for violence against police officers. In a June 2012 Facebook post about police hypothetically attempting to pull over a driver, he said, "It is my honest opinion that this driver would be morally justified in shooting that police officer at the moment the [police car's] lights go on." He was later removed from the [[Free State Project]] and banned from their events for this and other statements the group found to violate the libertarian [[non-aggression principle]]. Cantwell has posted photographs of himself dressed as a police officer who had been shot in the forehead for a 2014 Halloween party, and later that year he applauded the [[2014 killings of NYPD officers|man who killed two police officers in New York City]].<ref name=":1" /> Cantwell was a member of the Keene, New Hampshire-based [[Voluntaryism|voluntaryist]] protest group [[Keene, New Hampshire#Free Keene|Free Keene]], which is associated with the [[Free State Project]]. He and some other members objected to some actions of the Keene government which they considered to be examples of government over-involvement, such as the issuance of [[Parking violation|parking tickets]]. They filmed themselves harassing [[parking enforcement officer]]s and walking ahead of the officers to pay expired meters, and uploaded many of their clips to YouTube. In 2014, Cantwell was one of three members of this "Free Keene Squad" who were featured in a mocking segment on ''[[The Colbert Report]],'' which lampooned them as "brave patriots [who] are fighting back… against government overreach" by harassing "meter maids".<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Mark|first=Michelle|date=August 24, 2017|title=The white supremacist arrested after the Charlottesville rally was featured in a 2014 segment of 'The Colbert Report'|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/white-supremacist-christopher-cantwell-charlottesville-2014-colbert-report-parking-meters-2017-8|access-date=March 19, 2019|website=[[Business Insider]]|archive-date=July 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723023206/https://www.businessinsider.com/white-supremacist-christopher-cantwell-charlottesville-2014-colbert-report-parking-meters-2017-8|url-status=live}}</ref> Over time, Cantwell has focused less on anti-police and anti-government positions, saying "I have become convinced that our problems are a lot more racial than anything... the police are not my biggest problem right now."<ref name=":1" /> In March 2018, white supremacist and Internet troll [[Weev|Andrew Auernheimer]], known online as weev, leaked a screenshot of an online conversation with Cantwell. In reply to a message from Auernheimer condemning other people for talking to police, Cantwell is shown saying "I talked to cops too, gonna talk to the feds soon most likely". Auernheimer replied to Cantwell to say "that's fucking shitty scumbag behavior," and in the post accompanying the screenshot criticizes Cantwell for being "an admitted government informant" and describes the behavior as incompatible with Cantwell's calls for revolt. Soon after the leak, Cantwell published a blog post confirming that he was working with the government and claiming that he was doing so in an effort to get retribution at [[Antifa (United States)|Antifa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2018/03/24/i-am-a-federal-informant/|title=I Am A Federal Informant|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=March 24, 2018|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180325085557/https://christophercantwell.com/2018/03/24/i-am-a-federal-informant/|archive-date=March 25, 2018|url-status=dead|access-date=July 3, 2019}}</ref> The confirmation that he was working with law enforcement was met with anger from some members of the [[Far-right politics in the United States|far-right]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thinkprogress.org/crying-nazi-says-hes-an-fbi-informant-540c438c31f0/|title=The 'crying Nazi' from Charlottesville now says he's an FBI informant|last=Barnes|first=Luke|date=March 28, 2018|website=ThinkProgress|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330075330/https://thinkprogress.org/crying-nazi-says-hes-an-fbi-informant-540c438c31f0/|url-status=live}}</ref> Although Cantwell endorsed [[Donald Trump]] for president in January 2016,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://christophercantwell.com/2016/01/24/radical-agenda-ep094-the-libertarian-case-for-trump/|title=Radical Agenda EP094 – The Libertarian Case for Trump – Christopher Cantwell|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=February 13, 2016|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213035126/https://christophercantwell.com/2016/01/24/radical-agenda-ep094-the-libertarian-case-for-trump/|archive-date=February 13, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref> he has said that he hoped for a leader who was "a lot more racist than Donald Trump" and who "does not give his daughter to a Jew" (referring to [[Ivanka Trump]]'s marriage to [[Jared Kushner]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-furious-with-trump-charlottesville-white-supremacist-vice-video-2017-8|title=The chilling worldview of a white supremacist who helped lead the Charlottesville rally shows why so many people are furious with Trump|last=Mark|first=Michelle|date=August 16, 2017|work=[[Business Insider]]|accessdate=September 21, 2017|archive-date=September 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919172358/http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-furious-with-trump-charlottesville-white-supremacist-vice-video-2017-8|url-status=live}}</ref> === Unite the Right rally === {{further|Unite the Right rally}} [[File:Christopher Cantwell at Unite the RIght pepper-sprayed.jpg|thumb|Christopher Cantwell, pictured after being pepper-sprayed at the Unite the Right rally in August 2017]] Cantwell participated in the Unite the Right rally held in [[Charlottesville, Virginia]] on August 11–12, 2017. He was featured prominently in "Charlottesville: Race and Terror", an episode of ''[[Vice News Tonight]]'' about the rally and the groups who were present.<ref name="vice-cantwell" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/us/christopher-cantwell-crying-nazi-virginia.html|title=Christopher Cantwell, White Nationalist in Vice Video, Is Barred From Virginia|last=Zaveri|first=Mihir|date=July 21, 2018|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 7, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407153025/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/21/us/christopher-cantwell-crying-nazi-virginia.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He is first pictured marching through the [[University of Virginia]] campus among a group of white supremacists carrying tiki torches and chanting "Jews will not replace us."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://splinternews.com/crying-nazi-banned-from-virginia-for-5-years-1827776742|title='Crying Nazi' Banned From Virginia for 5 Years After Guilty Plea|last=Boddiger|first=David|date=July 21, 2018|website=[[Splinter News|Splinter]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=April 28, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428121439/https://splinternews.com/crying-nazi-banned-from-virginia-for-5-years-1827776742|url-status=live}}</ref> He later is shown bragging about carrying guns, working out, and "trying to make [himself] more capable of violence," later saying "We're not nonviolent. We'll fucking kill these people if we have to." In the same interview, he called the [[Charlottesville_car_attack|murder of Heather Heyer]] "more than justified" and claimed that "a lot more people are gonna die before we're done here, frankly".<ref name="businessinsider-cantwell">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-furious-with-trump-charlottesville-white-supremacist-vice-video-2017-8|title=The chilling worldview of a white supremacist who helped lead the Charlottesville rally shows why so many people are furious with Trump|last=Mark|first=Michelle|date=August 16, 2017|website=[[Business Insider]]|accessdate=September 21, 2017|archive-date=September 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170919172358/http://www.businessinsider.com/why-people-are-furious-with-trump-charlottesville-white-supremacist-vice-video-2017-8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="vice-cantwell" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/crying-neo-nazi-christopher-cantwell-guilty-of-assault-in-charlottesville-rally_us_5b53698de4b0de86f48d930e|title=Crying Neo-Nazi Chris Cantwell Pleads Guilty To Assault at Charlottesville Rally|last=Murdock|first=Sebastian|date=July 21, 2018|work=[[HuffPost]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=February 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214003656/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/crying-neo-nazi-christopher-cantwell-guilty-of-assault-in-charlottesville-rally_us_5b53698de4b0de86f48d930e|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/j5vg9x/the-crying-nazi-just-sued-antifa-for-allegedly-framing-him-in-charlottesville|title=White supremacist Cantwell just sued Antifa for allegedly framing him in Charlottesville|last1=Owen|first1=Tess|last2=Reeve|first2=Elle|date=January 3, 2018|website=[[Vice News]]|accessdate=August 16, 2018|archive-date=August 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816125756/https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/j5vg9x/the-crying-nazi-just-sued-antifa-for-allegedly-framing-him-in-charlottesville|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="newsweek-cantwell">{{cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacist-ready-violence-cries-charlottesville-arrest-warrant-651682|title=White Supremacist Who Boasted About Being 'Ready for Violence' Cries Over Possible Charlottesville Arrest Warrant|last=Sinclair|first=Harriet|date=August 16, 2017|magazine=[[Newsweek]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=September 12, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912130322/http://www.newsweek.com/white-supremacist-ready-violence-cries-charlottesville-arrest-warrant-651682|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Fox-Crying" /><ref name="guardian-cantwell">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/16/charlottesville-neo-nazis-vice-news-hbo|title='Jews will not replace us': Vice film lays bare horror of neo-Nazis in America|last=Gabbatt|first=Adam|date=August 16, 2017|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=September 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170910164016/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/aug/16/charlottesville-neo-nazis-vice-news-hbo|url-status=live}}</ref> == Criminal charges and convictions == In 2000, at age 19, Cantwell pleaded guilty in [[Suffolk County, New York]] to [[Driving under the influence|driving while intoxicated]] (DWI), criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal possession of stolen property.<ref name="Huff-extort" /><ref name=":1" /> He later told the Southern Poverty Law Center's ''Hatewatch'', "I was involved in so much bullshit when I was a teenager, honestly, that like what I got caught for was the least of the shit I did."<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> He received a second DWI charge in 2009, and when he announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives he was facing a possible [[felony]] conviction and four years in jail for receiving two DWIs within ten years in New York.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":10" /> === Unite the Right-related charges === Following the Unite the Right rally, Cantwell was indicted in [[Albemarle County, Virginia|Albemarle County]] on three felony assault charges stemming from the August 11 torchlit march: two counts of illegal use of [[tear gas]] and one count of malicious bodily injury with a caustic substance.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-christopher-cantwell-felony-arrest-20170823-story.html|title=White nationalist Chris Cantwell held without bond in Virginia on 3 felony charges|last=The Associated Press|date=August 24, 2017|website=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103080823/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-christopher-cantwell-felony-arrest-20170823-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/courts/in-new-motion-cantwell-seeks-summary-judgment-in-pepper-spray/article_a1cd65ec-830d-11e8-83f2-3b329b6d4de9.html|title=In new motion, Cantwell seeks summary judgment in pepper spray case, citing 'malicious prosecution'|last=Berg|first=Lauren|date=July 8, 2018|work=[[The Daily Progress]]|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=September 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180907093256/https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/courts/in-new-motion-cantwell-seeks-summary-judgment-in-pepper-spray/article_a1cd65ec-830d-11e8-83f2-3b329b6d4de9.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 16, 2017 Cantwell published a video of himself weeping while speaking about the warrant for his arrest, and his fears that he might be killed by police.<ref name="patch" /><ref name="newsweek-cantwell" /><ref name="mother-jones-cantwell">{{cite news|last=Tinoco|first=Matt|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/white-supremacist-cries-after-realizing-he-could-be-arrested/|title=White Supremacist Cries After Realizing He Could Be Arrested|work=[[Mother Jones (magazine)|Mother Jones]]|date=August 16, 2017|access-date=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816235247/http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/08/white-supremacist-cries-after-realizing-he-could-be-arrested/|url-status=live}}</ref> The video went viral and earned him the nickname of "The Crying Nazi."<ref name="crying-group-ref" /> Cantwell turned himself in to police on August 24 and was transported to Charlottesville, where he was initially ordered to be [[Pretrial detention|held without bond]].<ref name=":2" /><ref name="Fox-Crying">{{cite news |last1=Wallace |first1=Danielle |title='Crying Nazi' Christopher Cantwell convicted in rape threat, extortion case |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/crying-nazi-christopher-cantwell-rape-threat-extortion |access-date=9 December 2020 |work=Fox News |date=29 September 2020}}</ref> He was indicted on the tear gas charges in December, and paid $25,000 bail with funds donated by supporters on the white supremacist and [[Neo-Nazism|neo-Nazi]] [[crowdfunding]] websites [[Hatreon]] and [[GoyFundMe]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Reeve|first1=Elspeth|last2=Owen|first2=Tess|url=https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/d3xxnq/the-internet-bailed-charlottesville-white-supremacist-chris-cantwell-out-of-jail|title=The internet bailed Charlottesville white supremacist Chris Cantwell out of jail|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|date=December 11, 2017|accessdate=January 28, 2018|archive-date=January 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129140454/https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/d3xxnq/the-internet-bailed-charlottesville-white-supremacist-chris-cantwell-out-of-jail|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2018, Cantwell was charged with public swearing and [[Public intoxication|intoxication]] in [[Loudoun County, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/state/cantwell-facing-new-charge-in-loudoun-county/article_44361582-4438-11e8-b2e0-fbc7cf836e17.html|title=Cantwell facing new charge in Loudoun County|work=[[The Daily Progress]]|date=April 19, 2018|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=September 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917003235/https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/state/cantwell-facing-new-charge-in-loudoun-county/article_44361582-4438-11e8-b2e0-fbc7cf836e17.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Barrouquere|first=Brett|date=July 19, 2018|title=Prosecutors want Christopher Cantwell to back off victims, or go to jail|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/07/19/prosecutors-want-christopher-cantwell-back-victims-or-go-jail|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904032719/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/07/19/prosecutors-want-christopher-cantwell-back-victims-or-go-jail|archive-date=September 4, 2020|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=[[Southern Poverty Law Center#Hatewatch]]|publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|language=en}}</ref> He ultimately pleaded guilty to this [[misdemeanor]] and paid $116 in fees and court costs.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Baars|first=Samantha|url=https://www.c-ville.com/booze-bracelet-cantwells-public-intoxication-charge-violates-terms-bond/|title=Booze bracelet: Cantwell's public intoxication charge violates terms of bond|work=C-VILLE Weekly|date=May 1, 2018|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=April 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423170506/https://www.c-ville.com/booze-bracelet-cantwells-public-intoxication-charge-violates-terms-bond/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Baratko|first=Trevor|url=https://www.loudountimes.com/news/update-white-nationalist-chris-cantwell-pays-fine-closes-out-leesburg/article_19d6bf52-7a67-11e8-bfba-8344ee1695c7.html|title=UPDATE: White nationalist Chris Cantwell pays fine, closes out Leesburg misdemeanor|work=Loudoun Times-Mirror|date=June 27, 2018|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=July 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730174837/https://www.loudountimes.com/news/update-white-nationalist-chris-cantwell-pays-fine-closes-out-leesburg/article_19d6bf52-7a67-11e8-bfba-8344ee1695c7.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Separately, prosecutors accused Cantwell of attempting to intimidate witnesses to the August assaults via his social media accounts, and the court imposed more stringent terms on Cantwell's [[Bail|bond]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/county/cantwell-s-bond-restrictions-tightened-after-loudoun-arrest/article_45a406c4-49c2-11e8-98b2-6be8812ffe9f.html|title=Cantwell's bond restrictions tightened after Loudoun arrest|last=Berg|first=Lauren|work=[[The Daily Progress]]|date=April 26, 2018|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=April 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427184729/http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/county/cantwell-s-bond-restrictions-tightened-after-loudoun-arrest/article_45a406c4-49c2-11e8-98b2-6be8812ffe9f.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2017, Cantwell was listed as a defendant in the federal civil suit against the organizers of the Unite the Right rally. Cantwell, who is representing himself in the trial, filed a plea which included a long quote from [[Adolf Hitler]], who Cantwell described only as a "famous 20th century statesman". The trial, originally scheduled for autumn of 2020, was postponed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name=":10" /> In November 2017, at the [[preliminary hearing]] for the felony assault case, the unlawful bodily injury charge was dismissed,<ref name=":3" /> with the court ruling that "so many people had pepper spray that night that some attacks could not be definitively attributed to Cantwell."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Janik|first=Rachel|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/11/13/after-hearing-christopher-cantwell-faces-one-remaining-felony-charge|title=After hearing, Christopher Cantwell faces one remaining felony charge|work=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|date=November 13, 2017|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318052443/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/11/13/after-hearing-christopher-cantwell-faces-one-remaining-felony-charge|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2018, Cantwell entered into a [[plea agreement]] with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery for [[pepper spray]]ing two people at the rally. He was sentenced to two concurrent jail sentences of one year with all but seven months [[Suspended sentence|suspended]], and he was released from jail.<ref name=":4" /> As part of the sentence, Cantwell was required to leave Virginia within eight hours of the sentencing and was banned from returning to the state for five years.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Berg|first=Lauren|url=https://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/white-nationalist-christopher-cantwell-banned-from-virginia-for-five-years/article_b7eccde9-6f3d-532d-97ec-69ce34fce05e.html|title=White nationalist Christopher Cantwell banned from Virginia for five years after pleading guilty to assault at UVA torch march|work=[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]|date=July 20, 2018|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=April 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409130852/https://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/white-nationalist-christopher-cantwell-banned-from-virginia-for-five-years/article_b7eccde9-6f3d-532d-97ec-69ce34fce05e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also banned from publicly discussing the two people he attacked at the rally. Two days after the sentencing, Cantwell made a thinly-veiled reference to the two victims in a social media post in which he boasted about "gassing" them.<ref name=":10" /> Cantwell pleaded guilty to violating of the terms of his pre-trial release by making the social media posts, and was fined $250.<ref name=":4" /> === Bowl Patrol-related charges === Since 2018, Cantwell has been involved in an ongoing feud with members of the Bowl Patrol, a loose group of white supremacists who name themselves after the [[Bowl cut|bowl haircut]] of the perpetrator of the 2015 white supremacy-motivated [[Charleston church shooting|Charleston church mass shooting]]. In April 2018, Cantwell had been the first guest on the Bowl Patrol's new podcast, but over the following months he fell out with the group and became a target of [[Prank call|prank calls]] to his podcast, fake accounts pretending to be him, and music videos making fun of him. Cantwell made violent threats towards the group, and followed through on threats to contact law enforcement, including the FBI, about pranks perpetrated by its members. Prosecutors later alleged that Cantwell emailed law enforcement more than 50 times over a four-month period in 2019. In June 2019, Cantwell threatened a member of the Bowl Patrol who went by the pseudonym "CheddarMane", saying he would rape his wife in front of his children and contact [[Child Protective Services|child protective services]] (CPS) about CheddarMane's alleged drug use if he did not provide Cantwell with information on the identity of "Vic Mackey", another pseudonymous Bowl Patrol member. According to prosecutors, Cantwell followed through with the threat to contact CPS. In September 2019, Cantwell met with the FBI thinking he was helping form a case against the Bowl Patrol members. However, the FBI were actually forming a case to prosecute Cantwell for his June threats.<ref name=":10" /> On January 23, 2020, Cantwell was arrested by the FBI and charged with extortion over interstate communications and making threatening interstate communications in relation to the threats made against CheddarMane.<ref name="Huff-extort" /> Court filings also alleged that several days before his arrest, Cantwell used Telegram to threaten an attorney working on a lawsuit against him and others involved with the Unite the Right rally.<ref name=":9">{{cite web| url = https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/crying-nazi-involved-unite-right-rally-arrested-fbi-n1121266| title = 'Crying Nazi' involved in 'Unite the Right' rally arrested by the FBI| last1 = Winter| first1 = Tom| last2 = Schecter| first2 = Anna| date = January 23, 2020| website = NBC News| access-date = January 23, 2020| archive-date = January 26, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200126083854/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/crying-nazi-involved-unite-right-rally-arrested-fbi-n1121266| url-status = live}}</ref> During Cantwell's arrest, officers recovered seventeen firearms and other weapons from his residence and vehicle.<ref name=":10" /> Cantwell remained in jail from the time of his January arrest until trial, after the judge sided with prosecutors who argued that he was a risk to public safety.<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=July 13, 2020|title=Additional charges for jailed white nationalist|url=https://apnews.com/8066317af64d1b9a9930a63b00e8df62|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714195936/https://apnews.com/8066317af64d1b9a9930a63b00e8df62|archive-date=July 14, 2020|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=[[The Associated Press]]}}</ref> He was set to go to trial in March 2020, but the trial date was postponed to September 15, 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/ca1f10630b92bb98c7632e8f5750f876|title=White nationalist to remain in jail for now|last=Casey|first=Michael|date=February 20, 2020|website=[[The Associated Press]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222061548/https://apnews.com/ca1f10630b92bb98c7632e8f5750f876|archive-date=February 22, 2020|access-date=February 22, 2020}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=July 28, 2020|title=Crying Nazi to remain jailed until September trial|url=https://www.unionleader.com/news/courts/crying-nazi-to-remain-jailed-until-september-trial/article_9566aeec-babd-5732-8006-aadf51b285c0.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730074121/https://www.unionleader.com/news/courts/crying-nazi-to-remain-jailed-until-september-trial/article_9566aeec-babd-5732-8006-aadf51b285c0.html|archive-date=July 30, 2020|access-date=August 9, 2020|website=New Hampshire Union Leader|language=en}}</ref> On July 8, Cantwell was indicted on additional charges of [[cyberstalking]] and threatening to injure property or reputation.<ref name=":0" /> The federal trial began on September 22, 2020,<ref name=":10" /> and on September 28, 2020, Cantwell was found guilty on one count of transmitting extortionate communications and one count of threatening to injure property or reputation, and found not guilty of the cyberstalking charge. He was originally scheduled to be sentenced on January 4, 2021, but a continuation was granted by the judge. Cantwell faces a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":12" /> == Broadcasting and writing == Cantwell writes essays on his personal blog about topics including white supremacy, alt-right politics, libertarianism, and the [[men's rights movement]]. He has written for and republished essays about the men's rights movement to ''[[A Voice for Men]]'', a men's rights and [[Antifeminism|antifeminist]] website.<ref name="Marcotte">{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/2017/08/18/weeping-nazi-started-off-as-a-mens-rights-activist-which-is-no-huge-surprise/|title=Weeping Nazi started off as a 'men's rights activist', which is no huge surprise|last=Marcotte|first=Amanda|date=August 18, 2017|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|accessdate=August 18, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818112859/http://www.salon.com/2017/08/18/weeping-nazi-started-off-as-a-mens-rights-activist-which-is-no-huge-surprise/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013 and 2014, he wrote and republished his anti-police essays as a volunteer for [[CopBlock.org|Cop Block]], a police accountability organization.<ref name=":1" /> Cantwell co-hosted the [[anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalist]] radio show ''[[Free Talk Live]]'' but was suspended in 2015 after [[Twitter|tweeting]] a racial slur against an African American person who criticized him.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/a-tale-of-two-cantwells/538236/|title=I Share a Name With a White Nationalist—and Our Lives Became Digitally Entangled|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher D.|date=August 29, 2017|website=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=March 19, 2017|archive-date=August 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829123046/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/a-tale-of-two-cantwells/538236/|url-status=live}}<!-- PLEASE NOTE: This is not a self-published source, but rather an article written by someone who shares his name.--></ref> He later was removed from the position permanently.<ref name=":1" /> Meanwhile, in December 2013, Cantwell began what he originally called ''Some Garbage Podcast'', disseminated through YouTube and elsewhere, and in April 2015 renamed it ''Radical Agenda'', subtitled "a show about common sense extremism".<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2015/04/18/radical-agenda-ep001-patriots-day/|title=Radical Agenda EP001 – Patriots' Day|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=April 18, 2015|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818221127/https://christophercantwell.com/2015/04/18/radical-agenda-ep001-patriots-day/|archive-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=dead|accessdate=August 18, 2017}}</ref> By calling compatriots who recorded the conversations and posted them on his blog, Cantwell continued to broadcast from jail while he was incarcerated in August–December 2017 on charges related to the Unite the Right rally.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Moyer|first=Justin Wm.|date=October 31, 2017|title=The 'crying Nazi' is hosting a radio show from the Charlottesville jail|language=en-US|work=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/the-crying-nazi-is-hosting-a-radio-show-from-a-virginia-jail/2017/10/31/7789f4cc-bda5-11e7-a568-e899b546d3c9_story.html|url-status=live|access-date=October 3, 2020|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=June 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629034648/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/the-crying-nazi-is-hosting-a-radio-show-from-a-virginia-jail/2017/10/31/7789f4cc-bda5-11e7-a568-e899b546d3c9_story.html}}</ref> In January 2019, Cantwell created a more toned-down version of ''Radical Agenda'' called ''Outlaw Conservative''.<ref name=":10" /> On April 9, 2019, Cantwell published a blog post announcing that he had been "neglecting to deal with some serious personal problems for a very long time", and that he needed to "stop, avoid recording devices, and pull [himself] together."<ref name="takes-hiatus">{{Cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/04/10/white-supremacist-chris-cantwell-takes-hiatus-avoid-another-crying-nazi-moment|title=White Supremacist Chris Cantwell Takes Hiatus to Avoid 'Another Crying Nazi Moment'|last=Hayden|first=Michael Edison|date=April 10, 2019|website=Southern Poverty Law Center|language=en|access-date=April 13, 2019|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411175531/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/04/10/white-supremacist-chris-cantwell-takes-hiatus-avoid-another-crying-nazi-moment|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2019/04/09/learning-my-lesson/|title=Learning My Lesson|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=April 9, 2019|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|language=en-US|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190410001227/https://christophercantwell.com/2019/04/09/learning-my-lesson/|archive-date=April 10, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=April 13, 2019}}</ref> Cantwell told the Southern Poverty Law Center that he had decided to step away from broadcasting because "'Jews' had taken an emotional toll on him" and that he needed to "[step] away from the microphone to avoid another 'Crying Nazi' moment".<ref name="takes-hiatus" /> Cantwell returned to broadcasting and writing by June of the same year.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hammel|first=Tyler|date=September 25, 2019|title=Cantwell response to threat accusations 'two-faced,' attorneys argue|url=https://dailyprogress.com/news/august12/cantwell-response-to-threat-accusations-two-faced-attorneys-argue/article_1d1ef9cc-6bd4-5a64-9bf4-95bfa9d9b1da.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926222218/https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/august12/cantwell-response-to-threat-accusations-two-faced-attorneys-argue/article_1d1ef9cc-6bd4-5a64-9bf4-95bfa9d9b1da.html|archive-date=September 26, 2019|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=[[The Daily Progress]]|language=en}}</ref> === Social media suspensions === On August 16, 2017, Facebook said it had shut down Cantwell's Facebook and [[Instagram]] profiles due to statements he made in connection with the Unite the Right rally.<ref name="wapo-cantwell-banned">{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/silicon-valley-escalates-its-war-on-white-supremacy-despite-free-speech-concerns/2017/08/16/842771b8-829b-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html|title=Silicon Valley escalates its war on white supremacy despite free speech concerns|last1=Jan|first1=Tracy|last2=Dwoskin|first2=Elizabeth|date=August 16, 2017|accessdate=August 17, 2017|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|archive-date=January 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103121925/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/silicon-valley-escalates-its-war-on-white-supremacy-despite-free-speech-concerns/2017/08/16/842771b8-829b-11e7-902a-2a9f2d808496_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="time-cantwell">{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/facebook-banned-white-supremacist-christopher-030706592.html|title=Facebook Has Banned White Supremacist Christopher Cantwell|date=August 16, 2017|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]|accessdate=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331053911/https://www.yahoo.com/news/facebook-banned-white-supremacist-christopher-030706592.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/r-update-1-internet-firms-flex-muscle-to-exile-white-supremacists-2017-8-1002263739|title=UPDATE 1-Internet firms flex muscle to exile white supremacists (MSFT)|last1=Ingram|first1=David|last2=Menn|first2=Joseph|date=August 16, 2017|agency=[[Reuters]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817205846/http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/r-update-1-internet-firms-flex-muscle-to-exile-white-supremacists-2017-8-1002263739|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="techcrunch-losing-against-white-supremacy">{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/16/hatespeech-white-supremacy-nazis-social-networks/|title=Tech is not winning the battle against white supremacy|last=Hatmaker|first=Taylor|date=August 16, 2017|work=[[TechCrunch]]|accessdate=August 17, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817020803/https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/16/hatespeech-white-supremacy-nazis-social-networks/|url-status=live}}</ref> The following day it was reported that Cantwell had been banned from online dating service [[OKCupid]] after a woman reported receiving a message from him after seeing him in the ''Vice News Tonight'' segment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/before-getting-banned-from-okcupid-white-supremacist-c-1797949753|title=Before Getting Banned From OkCupid, White Supremacist Chris Cantwell Wrote Tips for Dating Online|last=Brown|first=Jennings|date=August 17, 2017|website=[[Gizmodo]]|accessdate=August 18, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818184538/http://gizmodo.com/before-getting-banned-from-okcupid-white-supremacist-c-1797949753|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/2017/08/17/okcupid-white-supremacist-chris-cantwell/|title=Dating Site OkCupid Just Banned This White Supremacist 'For Life'|last=Zorthian|first=Julia|date=August 17, 2017|accessdate=August 18, 2017|magazine=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]]|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817213210/http://fortune.com/2017/08/17/okcupid-white-supremacist-chris-cantwell/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="qz-actions-against-white-nationalists">{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/1055141/what-websites-and-apps-have-banned-neo-nazis-and-white-supremacists/|title=A running list of websites and apps that have banned, blocked, deleted, and otherwise dropped white supremacists|last=Collins|first=Keith|date=August 16, 2017|work=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]]|accessdate=August 18, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817230448/https://qz.com/1055141/what-websites-and-apps-have-banned-neo-nazis-and-white-supremacists/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sdut-accounts-suspended">{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-kkk-dailystormer-white-supremacists-denied-20170816-htmlstory.html|title=OkCupid, Facebook, PayPal, Spotify are banning white supremacists|last=Gomez|first=Luis|date=August 16, 2017|newspaper=[[U-T San Diego]]|accessdate=August 18, 2017|archive-date=August 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170817031848/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-kkk-dailystormer-white-supremacists-denied-20170816-htmlstory.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In a blog post published on August 17, 2017, Cantwell wrote, "I have been shut out of nearly every financial and communications system I once had available. [[PayPal]], [[Venmo]], [[Dwolla]], and [[Stripe (company)|Stripe]] all disabled my accounts. I was shut out not only of Facebook, Instagram, [[Twitter]], and [[Mailchimp|MailChimp]], but now even my online dating profiles at OKCupid, [[Match.com]], and [[Tinder (app)|Tinder]] have all been disabled."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2017/08/17/mr-president-im-sorry/|title=Mr. President, I'm Sorry|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=August 17, 2017|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413171732/https://christophercantwell.com/2017/08/17/mr-president-im-sorry/|archive-date=April 13, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=April 13, 2019}}</ref> On March 18, 2019, the far-right social network [[Gab (social network)|Gab]] tweeted a statement that they had indefinitely banned an unnamed "controversial user" for making two "inflammatory political posts".<ref>{{Cite tweet|number=1107762823512363008|user=getongab|title=Press release:|author=Gab|date=March 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319053217/https://twitter.com/getongab/status/1107762823512363008|archive-date=March 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Cantwell posted on his blog that he believes he was the one who was banned, after he discovered his profile had been blanked and he was unable to log in,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://christophercantwell.com/2019/03/18/i-think-ive-been-banned-from-gab/|title=I Think I've Been Banned from Gab|last=Cantwell|first=Christopher|date=March 18, 2019|website=ChristopherCantwell.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319004041/https://christophercantwell.com/2019/03/18/i-think-ive-been-banned-from-gab/|archive-date=March 19, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=March 19, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/social-media-site-gab-bans-crying-nazi-killing-leftists-1367679|title="Crying Nazi" Christopher Cantwell reportedly banned from Gab after post advocated shooting leftists|last=Moritz-Rabson|first=Daniel|date=March 19, 2019|website=[[Newsweek]]|language=en|access-date=March 31, 2019|archive-date=March 31, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331004628/https://www.newsweek.com/social-media-site-gab-bans-crying-nazi-killing-leftists-1367679|url-status=live}}</ref> and it was later confirmed the banned user was Cantwell.<ref name=":10" /> A December 2017 episode of the ''Radical Agenda'' podcast featured a conversation between Cantwell and [[Weev|Andrew "weev" Auernheimer]], a white supremacist, Internet troll, and the webmaster of ''[[The Daily Stormer]]''. In the episode, Auernheimer called for the mass murder of Jewish children. Shortly after, GoDaddy announced that they would no longer host the ''Radical Agenda'' website after finding it in violation of their policies against encouraging and promoting violence.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/crying-nazi-website-dropped-godaddy-following-rant-calling-slaughter-jewish-771352|title=Nazi rant promising "slaughter" of Jewish children prompts disavowal from GoDaddy|last=Hayden|first=Michael Edison|date=January 4, 2018|website=Newsweek|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=April 10, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410155654/https://www.newsweek.com/crying-nazi-website-dropped-godaddy-following-rant-calling-slaughter-jewish-771352|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/neo-nazi-andrew-weev-auernheimer-daily-stormer-jewish-descent-768805|title=A neo-Nazi who co-runs Daily Stormer is of Jewish descent, his mom says|last=Hayden|first=Michael Edison|date=January 3, 2018|website=Newsweek|access-date=March 19, 2019|archive-date=March 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313154644/https://www.newsweek.com/neo-nazi-andrew-weev-auernheimer-daily-stormer-jewish-descent-768805|url-status=live}}</ref> Cantwell wrote of the difficulties he was facing due to his suspensions in a private Telegram group, saying, "My inability to grow [''Radical Agenda''] by being on other platforms, my inability to make money, is threatening to bankrupt me and end the show".<ref name=":10" /> == References == {{reflist}} == External links == *[http://www.concordmonitor.com/chris-cantwell-white-nationalist-rally-charlottesville-va-hate-in-nh-11908443 Images of Cantwell at the "Unite the Right" torch march, August 11, 2017], via the ''[[Concord Monitor]]'' {{Alt-right footer}} {{Neo-Nazism}} {{White nationalism}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantwell, Christopher}} [[Category:1980 births]] [[Category:21st-century American criminals]] [[Category:21st-century American writers]] [[Category:21st-century atheists]] [[Category:Alt-right writers]] [[Category:American anarcho-capitalists]] [[Category:American atheists]] [[Category:American conspiracy theorists]] [[Category:American extortionists]] [[Category:American libertarians]] [[Category:American men podcasters]] [[Category:American neo-Nazis]] [[Category:American people convicted of assault]] [[Category:American podcasters]] [[Category:American political activists]] [[Category:American white nationalists]] [[Category:American white supremacists]] [[Category:Antisemitism in the United States]] [[Category:Criminals from New Hampshire]] [[Category:Criminals from New York (state)]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Men's rights activists]] [[Category:People from Keene, New Hampshire]] [[Category:People from Stony Brook, New York]] [[Category:Shock jocks]] [[Category:Voluntaryists]] [[Category:Ward Melville High School alumni]]'