John Turano was one of the original alt-right brawlers, becoming a celebrity after a Berkeley rally in which he fought with Antifa while wearing a Spartan helmet and chest piece.

“I never actually felt a connection with any political person ever in my entire life,” he tells Vice in a new feature called The Rise and Fall of an Alt-Right Gladiator. “Trump was the first person I ever voted for in my entire life… He says some really bad things—and I do, too.”

We then see Turano verbally assault a woman who walks by him: “Shut up you f*cking tweaker, you tweaking-ass b*tch, you crack-headed wh*re,” he says.

But the ex-con had a realization during a Portland rally: The people around him were a collection of racists, homophobes, sexists and xenophobes.

A basket of deplorables, if you will.

And so, in a story first broken by a student newspaper in Portland, Turano defected, saying he “made a big mistake.”

The Vice feature covers Turano’s origin and change of heart.

“I’m not political, so I’ll unleash on anyone,” he says. “It’s just something that grows within me. And when it explodes, I explode…. I’ve probably been affected by this my whole life.”

The feature goes into detail about John Turano’s relationship with his daughter, Bianca Turano, who goes to the protests with him. Partly to “fight for our freedoms,” but also to keep an eye on her dad.

“I like going out to, like, help control my dad as well, because I don’t want him to, like, you know, blow up and do something he might regret,” she says. “Sometimes he gets a little crazy.”

Bianca Turano, the daughter of alt-right brawler John Turano/Screenshot

Bianca Turano points out one of the essential ironies of Based Spartan shtick: “We’re not a racist family. I mean, my mom is an illegal alien. My dad loves all people. Like I love everybody.”

Turano eventually decided to defect. He shows off his armor, which now bears a remembrance to Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville, and the words “Cuck Spartan.”

“That means about your wife getting f*cked in front of you. I told them, ‘That is me! because holy shit I would j*ck off is she was getting f*cked,'” he says. “Anyways, everyone hates me and calls me ‘Cuck Spartan,’ so I put the cuck on.”

One of the alt-right guys who watches him, wearing a mask, trashes Turano.

Turano in Vice’s “The Rise and Fall of an Alt-Right Gladiator”/Screenshot

“He was Antifa the whole time, bro. He didn’t change sides. F*ck that guy, he’s a total f*ggot,” the man says.

You can watch the feature below.

Warning: There are some extremely disturbing parts, as well as an emotional moment that may make you a little teary.

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We’ve launched a weekly podcast, “We’ve Got Issues,” focused on issues, not tweets. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. We’re not part of a conglomerate, or a project of venture capital bros. From unflinching coverage of racism, to revealing efforts to erode our rights, Raw Story will continue to expose hypocrisy and harm. Unhinged from billionaires and corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We’ve launched a weekly podcast, “We’ve Got Issues,” focused on issues, not tweets. Unlike other news sites, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. We’re not part of a conglomerate, or a project of venture capital bros. From unflinching coverage of racism, to revealing efforts to erode our rights, Raw Story will continue to expose hypocrisy and harm. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.