Former neo-Nazi reveals to CNN how Trump emboldens white nationalist culture of hate

Ken Parker, a former neo-Nazi who is now working against the movement he once championed, has told CNN that many people within his movement were heartened after President Donald Trump defended some of the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.

Parker told CNN on Thursday that he attended the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally last year, and he now admits that the entire gathering was just an excuse to demonstrate hatred for racial minorities.

"On paper, we were just going up there to stand up for the white race," he said. "But honestly, I think everybody was just going to fight."

He then explained how Trump's infamous declaration that some of the Charlottesville racists were "very fine people" emboldened some of his cohorts.

"Some of them were real happy about it," he said of Trump's statement. "Others in the movement, they got angry at Trump -- Trump wasn't anti-Jewish enough, he wasn't doing enough for white nationalism."

Parker left the white nationalist movement after he started attending a predominantly black church that welcomed him in and, in CNN's words, "washed away the hate" he felt toward other people. Parker has since worked to remove the swastika tattoo on his chest.

Watch the video below.