Notorious white supremacist Nick Fuentes is facing battery charges in Illinois after authorities say he pepper-sprayed a woman who was knocking on his front door when he infuriated many online by tweeting the misogynistic slogan “your body, my choice” after Donald Trump’s victory in the recent presidential election.
Fuentes, 26, was arrested Nov. 27 on a misdemeanor charge and released the same day, according to documents filed Wednesday in Cook County Circuit Court and reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. He is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on December 19.
The far-right, openly anti-Semitic influencer tried to make light of his legal situation on social media on Friday, publishing a post on
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Meanwhile, the Jewish feminist activist who brought the case against Fuentes, 57-year-old Marla Rose, also commented on social media, writing on Facebook: “It. Is. On.” She added “civil case pending” to the post with three fire emojis.
Fuentes invited the wrath of the digital sphere by celebrating Trump’s return to the presidency at the expense of Kamala Harris on November 6 with a barb at X: “Your body, my choice. Forever.”
The post mocking the concept of bodily autonomy for women — along with the 2022 elimination of federal abortion rights at the hands of a U.S. Supreme Court dominated by justices appointed or aligned with Trump — had more than 99.7 as of Saturday million views. And some of Fuentes’ political opponents retaliated by publishing his home address on social media and declaring: “Your home, our choice.”
Rose eventually told police that she went to Fuentes’ country home in the Chicago-area suburb of Berwyn on November 10. He soon allegedly pepper-sprayed her, pushed her against the concrete and broke her cell phone.
A video of the encounter that Rose later released showed Fuentes opening his front door as she reached out to ring the doorbell. He extended his left arm while holding a bottle of pepper spray, prompting Rose to say, “Oh my God, what are you doing?” The phone was then seen dropping as Fuentes could be heard saying, “Get out of here.” Fuentes then apparently used his foot to drag the phone into his home before closing and locking the door.
A police report filed Nov. 11 stated that another woman who was driving by Fuentes’ home at the time called officers. That witness described seeing a man push a woman outside a home, the report said.
Rose was still at the scene when police arrived, and officers reportedly spoke with both her and Fuentes separately.
The report added that Fuentes claimed to police that he had received death threats and that “people who showed up at his home unannounced” after posting “a political joke online” had left him “in fear for his life.” He “ultimately became uncooperative” and refused to pursue the confrontation with Rose further, as NBC News reported.
Rose had “watery” eyes but reported no other visible physical injuries, the report said.
Possible penalties for misdemeanor assault under Illinois law include relatively short prison sentences, probation and fines.
Before the fallout from his infamous post-election tweet, Fuentes received perhaps the most mainstream attention in late 2022, when Trump hosted him for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort as he prepared to suit up for a to nominate for a second time. presidency. Another guest at that dinner was the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who had promoted anti-Semitic comments that — among other consequences — cost him a business partnership with the sportswear company Adidas.
