Former Central Intelligence Company officer Joe Kent by no means gained any of his bids for Congress, however because of President Donald Trump, the person with ties to white nationalism would possibly quickly be in control of the Nationwide Counterterrorism Heart.
Kent, who had his affirmation listening to earlier than the Senate Choose Committee on Intelligence on Thursday, has no prior expertise operating an intelligence unit—although neither does his boss, Nationwide Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
Nonetheless, the Inexperienced Beret veteran has loads of expertise working with white supremacists and spreading conspiracy theories.
In 2021, Kent, who presently works below Gabbard as her chief of employees, teamed up with identified white supremacist Nick Fuentes, which he admitted on social media throughout certainly one of his failed congressional bids. When Trump gained the 2024 presidential election, Fuentes posted on X—one of many few social media platforms he isn’t banned from—to make a disturbing publish.
“Your physique, my selection. Eternally,” he wrote.
Kent has additionally been interviewed by Greyson Arnold, who has stated that Adolf Hitler was misunderstood. Kent and his workforce later denied understanding who Arnold was on the time of the interview.
In the meantime, Mom Jones journalist David Corn called out Kent on Thursday for his tattoo, which reads “Panzer,” which was a German tank utilized by the Nazis throughout World Conflict II.
And whereas he can deny associations, Kent’s on-line historical past speaks for itself, tweeting back and forth with the founding father of far-right paramilitary group 1st Amendment Praetorians. The group, shortened to 1AP, was subpoenaed in 2021 for its involvement within the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.
Shady relationships apart, Kent himself has his personal regarding ideologies. Throughout his affirmation listening to, he told committee members that he plans to research a debunked far-right conspiracy idea that the FBI was concerned within the riot.
Kent, who has overtly voiced his love for MAGA loyalist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, has an actual affinity for conspiracies like this. Whereas on the congressional marketing campaign path, Kent referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as “experimental gene remedy.
“Anthony Fauci and a variety of his underlings have been operating amok as unelected bureaucrats, funding gain-of-function analysis below the nostril of our federal authorities. They have been funding the exact same individuals who cooked up the COVID-19 virus within the Wuhan Institute [of Virology] and Fauci should be held accountable for that,” he said.
Extra just lately, Kent was included within the group chat within the SignalGate scandal.
“There’s presently ongoing litigation, Senator, so I actually can’t give any extra particulars,” he stated throughout his affirmation listening to, later including that “no categorized data was mentioned,” so it was “not a priority” to him.
It feels like Kent will match proper in among the many Trump administration.
