Wednesday, November 11, 2026 America First. Truth First. America Always.
AFNSAmerica First News Syndicate
DSA vs America First Status: Claims unverified

America First vs. MAGA: Fuentes Urges Followers to "Stay Home or Vote Democrat" as Hat Incidents Spread

By AFNS Research Desk · · 2 min read

The Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, October 2024
Photo: JThorne / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

Correction, Oct. 29, 2026: An earlier version of this article said a viral clip appeared to show a young man in an America First hat being escorted out of a JD Vance rally, and labeled that claim UNVERIFIED. Montana state Rep. Braxton Mitchell told Belgrade News that the man was not thrown out. He said security moved the man, a volunteer, to a different spot. This article has been corrected.

Status: Claims unverified. Fuentes's statements are documented by the Washington Times and Newsweek. The remaining hat claims below are UNVERIFIED.

A note on the name: in this article, "America First" refers to Nick Fuentes's movement and its branding, including its hats. AFNS uses "America First" in its own tagline, but it has no affiliation with Fuentes or his movement.

Who Fuentes is

The Washington Times calls Fuentes an extremist. Newsweek calls him a far-right Gen Z influencer.

"Stay home or vote Democrat"

On Oct. 26, Fuentes said President Trump broke his "no new wars" promise over the Iran war and the economy. He told followers to "stay home or vote Democrat" (Washington Times; Newsweek). For his post and its reach, see yesterday's report.

Ohio: Acton vs. Ramaswamy

  • The endorsement: Fuentes urged Ohioans to back Democrat Amy Acton over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. The Cincinnati Exchange traced this to his Oct. 8-9 posts.
  • Acton: there is no sign Acton has accepted the endorsement.
  • Trump: the President campaigns in Ohio for Ramaswamy today.

The hat incidents

  • The Vance rally (corrected). A clip with about 2.2 million views showed a young man in an America First hat behind JD Vance (@ImperiumFirst). Montana state Rep. Braxton Mitchell told Belgrade News the man was not thrown out. He said security moved the man, a volunteer, to a different spot. Derrick Evans and pollster Mark Mitchell had criticized Vance over the clip on X.
  • UNVERIFIED: Fort Myers. X posts claim Trump rally staff in Fort Myers made people remove America First hats or leave (@BarronTruthX).
  • UNVERIFIED: the hat call. Fan accounts say Fuentes urged supporters to wear the hats to MAGA rallies.

Why it matters

Fuentes is urging part of the right to sit out or vote for Democrats a week before the midterms, in races such as Ohio's. How much of the vote he can move is not documented in the sources.

Sources

  1. Belgrade News: man in America First hat wasn't thrown out, Mitchell says www.belgrade-news.com
  2. Washington Times: Fuentes tells voters to stay home or vote Democrat www.washingtontimes.com
  3. Newsweek: influencer tells fans to skip midterms or vote Democrat www.newsweek.com
  4. The Cincinnati Exchange: the Acton endorsement thecincinnatiexchange.com
  5. ImperiumFirst on X: rally clip (claim corrected) x.com
  6. Derrick Evans on X x.com
  7. Mark Mitchell on X x.com
  8. BarronTruthX on X: Fort Myers claim (unverified) x.com

See our sourcing & corrections standards.

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