Mike Cernovich Next Alt-Right Blogger To Be Punched In The Face

Mike Cernovich, a prominent figure on social media among the alt-right (although he has taken to describing himself as “new right” lately), has reportedly become the latest member of the alt-right to be punched in the face at an anti-Trump demonstration. According to a report by AOL News, Cernovich was attending the anti-Trump “Tax March” rally in Austin, TX, with the intent of riling up the crowd, when he was “attacked”.

“Somebody attacked me and I had to hit them back,” said Cernovich, showing off his bloodied fist for the camera.

According to witnesses, Cernovich and his crew attended the rally calling for Donald Trump to release his tax returns on the weekend before Tax Day. Cernovich, or a member of his group, was repeatedly yelling “Bill Clinton is a rapist” at the crowd while they responded with obscenities, pushed, and shoved protest signs in his face. The stream ended abruptly when he dropped his phone; when the broadcast started back up, he said that he had been attacked.

Witnesses corroborated that he had been “ambushed.”

“You guys were leaving, you said your piece, some guy came in and coldcocked you.”

Cernovich subsequently published an article about the incident with the title “America’s Leading Mindset Expert Attacked by Feral Mob, Maintains Emotional Control.” Note: he is referring to himself in that headline; he subsequently wrote the entire article in the third person, linking to his book twice. He described the protesters as “feral” and “in a cult.” For the record, Cernovich habitually writes about himself in third person.

“Watch Cernovich keep his cool. His haters do not have emotional control, they lack Gorilla Mindset.

“Mike Cernovich is one of America’s leading jouirnalists (sic).”

Cernovich was a significant provocateur during the 2016 election, but the internet perhaps knows him best as a prominent member of GamerGate — their “Based Lawyer,” in his own words, their “champion” — and for his self-published self-help book, Gorilla Mindset: Timeless Strategies to Unleash the Animal Within You, which he frequently touts on social media. The title is a reference to Cernovich’s anti-feminist views (he’s also popular in the so-called Manosphere). During the election, according to the New York Times, he became a prominent alt-right figure.

“I use trolling tactics to build my brand,” Cernovich told the New Yorker. And although he expresses his distaste for them, “until the right wins for once, I have no interest in arguing with the alt-right or disavowing anyone.” He was also heavily involved in the baseless “Pizzagate” conspiracy which ultimately resulted in a man firing an assault weapon inside of a D.C. pizza restaurant, although he denies that it was his story.

Recently, Cernovich gained media attention again when he vowed to release “the motherlode,” an alleged collection of information “about the mistresses, the sugar babies, the drugs, the pill popping, the orgies,” if White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon was fired — a promise that, according to Salon, he subsequently walked back a day later. “Fake news people are claiming that I threatened the Trump administration because I said I would release damaging information about Deep State,” Cernovich said on Periscope. “I would never threaten anyone in the Trump family, legally or otherwise.”

Cernovich attended the Tax Day rally following a wave of promotion by prominent figures in the White House, including Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump Jr., the latter of whom suggested that Cernovich should win a Pulitzer (he later declined to comment.)

Unlike most alt-right recipients of punches in public, Cernovich seems undeterred; in fact, he almost seems gleeful about the attack, and has proudly shared several videos of a young woman being viciously attacked by a man at the rally.

[Featured Image by Ted S. Warren/AP Images]