GOP House candidate who led disruption at Porter town hall holds extremist views

Nick Taurus, a Republican running for the seat in California’s 45th Congressional District currently held by Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, was reportedly involved in what the Los Angeles Times called a “scuffle” at a town hall Porter held on Sunday in Irvine, California.

According to the Times’ reporting, Taurus and a group of his supporters interrupted Porter with chants and shouting as she spoke, leading to physical confrontations between his supporters and hers that were broken up by police.

On July 8, Taurus had posted a call on his Instagram account for his supporters to cause disruption at the event. “CONFRONT KATIE PORTER!” Taurus wrote, adding, “Her America Last policies are awful for the 45th district and we intend to voice our displeasure.”

“It is disappointing that a small but vocal group of attendees, who advertised a ‘confrontation rally,’ created unsafe conditions at a planned family-friendly event,” Porter said in a statement after the event. “My team and I are evaluating next steps, but my promise to Orange County families is that I will continue to hold town halls and to be in conversation with them.”

Porter won reelection in 2020 by 7 percentage points over Republican Greg Raths.

Taurus, who filed official paperwork declaring his candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on June 15, says on his official campaign website, “Our Movement of ‘Christ, Country, Community,’ Starts in Orange County!”

“I am an American nationalist and Roman Catholic who is most concerned with addressing the issues surrounding immigration, vaccination and Critical Race Theory,” the site reads.

A review of Taurus’ social media posts reveals a history of homophobic, racist, and conspiracy theory-related rants.

“No longer will AMERICANS bow to the billionaires, anti-White extremists and the GAY mafia,” he wrote on June 19.

On June 1, Taurus called LGBTQ Pride month “#GROSS.”

Taurus defended widely condemned anti-LGBTQ laws in Hungary, writing on July 8, “For the simple crime of merely refusing drag queens the right to read to their children, the Hungarian nation faces the full ire of the Globalist American Empire.” In the same post, he referred to “the CULTURE OF DEATH associated with the LGBT movement.”

Referencing Caitlin Jenner’s campaign for governor of California, Taurus wrote on April 26, “How could anyone that identifies as Christian or Conservative, vote for a h0m0sexu@l or tr@nny? Their very lifestyle is an affront to God.”

Taurus has also praised white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

In the caption of a selfie with Fuentes he posted on June 30, Taurus wrote, “This guy is the truth and it was an absolute honor to meet him! AMERICA FIRST IS INEVITABLE!” The slogan “America First is inevitable” has been used by Fuentes and his white supremacist allies as a rallying cry.

After former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on April 20 in the murder of George Floyd, Taurus unleashed a barrage of posts, writing, “Current mood following the Chauvin verdict. #JOKECOUNTRY #DEATHTOAMERICA.”

“White America: GUILTY AS CHARGED! The Derek Chauvin trial was a farce. A joke. An absolute charade. The ‘justice’ system in this country is concerned with persecuting the enemies of their preferred pawns rather than ensuring law & order,” he wrote in another post.

In a post using the hashtag “#CHAUVINDIDNOTHINGWRONG,” Taurus wrote, “Black people are so oppressed in America that their families receive millions in settlement money despite using counterfeit bills & resisting arrest (George Floyd) or selling drugs and hiding bodies in their car (Breonna Taylor).”

Attacking the NFL for a statement in support of Chauvin’s conviction, Fuentes wrote, “If you’re White I’d highly suggest that you stop contributing to backdoor reparations otherwise known as American sports leagues.”

The Republican candidate attacked the decision to make Juneteenth, which celebrates Black liberation from slavery, describing it as “summer Kwanzaa.” Taurus posted in June, “July 4th, 1776. Original White Boy Summer.”

On Independence Day, Taurus wrote, “George Washington forever, George Floyd never!”

Taurus also claimed in another post, “The level of violence perpetrated by Blacks in our inner cities on a normal day exceeds anything done by supposed ‘White Supremacists.'”

Taurus has repeatedly praised and supported the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

He called in May for the immediate release of everyone involved in the attack, and also said, “Everything about January 6th was a lie. Everyone that was arrested is a political prisoner.” He also described Trump supporter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot by a Capitol Police officer as she attempted to break into the Capitol, as a “great veteran.”

Taurus has also promoted conspiracy theories about the coronavirus and vaccines against COVID-19.

“COVID is fake and g@y,” Taurus claimed. “If you get the vaccine you are a slave.”

He described the vaccine as “the Mark of the Beast” and wrote, “Welcome to California where you can spread AIDS without repercussions but if you refuse an experimental vaccine, you’re barred from society.”

Taurus has posted anti-vaccination misinformation and alleged that the vaccines were part of a plot by pharmaceutical companies to kill people. In a post on May 19, he falsely claimed that as many people have died from COVID vaccines as have Americans fighting in the Iraq War.

The candidate referred to Donald Trump as “the last legitimate American President” and described him as “a man in the mold of Washington & Jackson, a true American hero.” He added, “Standing back, standing by sir!” referring to Trump’s direction to the extremist Proud Boys movement after he was asked to condemn them during a 2020 presidential debate.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.