American Conservative Union leader slams alt-right as "fascists" in CPAC warning speech

Impact

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The head of the American Conservative Union laid into "left-wing fascists" he said have "hijacked" the alt-right movement and distorted it into a hate movement.

"There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way into our ranks and we must not be duped," Dan Schneider told hundreds of listeners at CPAC, the nation's premier gathering of young grassroots conservative activists, on Thursday. "We must not be deceived. This is serious business."

The title of his talk: "The Alt Right Ain't Right at All."

"Just a few years ago, this hate-filled, left-wing fascist group hijacked the very term 'alt-right.' That term 'alt-right' has been used for a long time in a very good, normal way. But this group has hijacked the term," Schneider told the crowds who gathered for four days of speeches from everyone up to and including President Donald Trump.

"We must not allow them to be normalized. They are not part of us," Schneider continued in the main hall at CPAC, which dumped an appearance by political stunt man Milo Yiannopoulous over his comments about pedophilia. 

"We know who these people are. They met just a couple of months ago in Washington, D.C., to spew their hatred and make their 'Heil Hitler' salutes," Schneider said. Incidentally, shortly after Schneider's speech, alt-right leader Richard Spencer was ejected by CPAC security following an impromptu press conference in the hall.

"They are anti-Semites," Schneider warned the crowd. "They are racists. They are sexists. They hate the Constitution. They hate free markets. They hate pluralism. They despise everything we believe in. They are not an extension of conservatism."

"They are nothing but garden-variety left-wing fascists. Hateful left-wing fascists are not like anybody here... They're not us."