Marines investigate son of former California GOP official for alleged ties to white nationalist group: report

On Friday, The San Diego Union-Tribunereported that a Marine reservist who happens to be the son of a former Republican San Diego County official is under investigation after a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center revealing one in five applicants to the white nationalist group Patriot Front have ties to the military.

"(The SPLC report) highlighted one applicant who said he was a San Diego-based Marine veteran," reported Tony Dyer. "Local activists noted that Cpl. Victor Krvaric, 21, shares the same biographic details — such as age, job titles and family background — as the anonymous applicant cited in the SPLC report. Krvaric is a son of Tony Krvaric, the ex-chairman of the county Republican Party. San Diego activists affiliated with The Activist Podcast were the first to point to Krvaric as possibly being the unnamed person in the SPLC report. In a detailed thread on Twitter Wednesday, the podcast pointed to the similarities between Krvaric and the applicant, who is named in the leaked chats as 'Interviewee 441515.'"

In the SPLC report, "Interviewee 441515" freely admitted to believing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, and advocated ending nearly all non-European immigration to the United States. According to the Union-Tribune, the Marine Corps Reserve has confirmed that they are investigating whether Krvaric is in fact the person identified by the SPLC.

"According to the SPLC, Patriot Front was founded in the wake of the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., after breaking off from neo-Nazi group Vanguard America," said the report. "Its founder, Thomas Rousseau, led Vanguard America members at the rally. A man photographed holding a Vanguard America shield, James Fields Jr., went on to drive his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters, killing one. In 2019, Fields was convicted of murder and federal hate crimes and sentenced to life in prison. The group denied Fields was a member."

This comes shortly after another report revealing the stepson of a Tampa, Florida police officer was another member of Patriot Front. It also comes as Patriot Front have tried to use the anti-abortion March for Life as a platform for recruitment, leading to tensions and counterprotests.