Richard Bertrand Spencer is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and white supremacist. Spencer claimed to have coined the term "alt-right" and was the most prominent advocate of the alt-right movement from its earliest days. He advocates for the reconstitution of the European Union into a white racial empire, which he believes will replace the diverse European ethnic identities with one homogeneous "White identity".
Spencer in 2016
White nationalist protesters clash with police during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The alt-right is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity and establishing a presence in other countries during the mid-2010s, and has been declining since 2017. The term is ill-defined and has been used in different ways by academics, journalists, media commentators, and alt-right members themselves.
Prominent alt-rightists were instrumental in organizing the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia; pictured are rally participants carrying Confederate battle flags, Gadsden flags, and a Nazi flag.
An alt-right supporter at the 2017 March 4 Trump rally in Saint Paul, Minnesota; a depiction of Pepe the Frog has been digitally removed from the lower left corner of the man's sign due to copyright issues.
The American white nationalist ideologue Jared Taylor became a revered figure among the alt-right, and the events organized by his American Renaissance group were attended by many alt-right members.
Richard B. Spencer claimed to have coined the term "alternative right" in 2008.