The LA Ten Four

By Sean Beckner-Carmitchel

Neo-Nazis Are Hosting Rallies At A Laguna Hills City Classroom

Laguna Hills, Calif. — A space in the Laguna Hills Community Center has been booked at least twice by neo-Nazi and white nationalist activists for a rally designed for “nationalism, activism & youth outreach.” The event’s organizers include Nick Taurus, a self-described nationalist and former congressional candidate; Ryan Sanchez, who has publicly identified with neo-Nazi ideology; and Joseph V. Camera, who has been delivering lectures across Southern California warning of what he calls an approaching third world war.

Note: There are many references to social media posts made by some of the people profiled in this piece. Ten Four has elected not to link to them, in order to prevent further engagement within their respective social media algorithms.

The event will be held on Oct 29 within the Laguna Hills Community Center and is billed as a “Taurus/Camera event.” Last month, the same group hosted an event wherein Joseph V. Camera gestured to a PowerPoint presentation entitled “World War III,” and told a group of just over a dozen that left-wing activists were preparing to cause a global conflict while pontificating various conspiracy theories involving “vaccine passports,” and claiming TSA was part of a plot for “endless war.”

A spokesperson for the Laguna Hills Community Center told Ten Four that the group renting the space is “a private rental group and we do not regulate the contents of private rentals.” When asked specifically if they knew of the groups attending and their beliefs, the spokesperson said “at this time no, we are not aware of what comes in and who is speaking at different rentals.”

Email and telephone requests for comment from Laguna Hills city officials were not returned.

Legal experts who spoke to Ten Four generally agreed that the city could not prevent the group from renting the space without specific safety concerns, citing the First Amendment. Though some did say that the explicitly violent and discriminatory nature of the group could conceivably result in lawsuits if violence or discrimination occurred because of the event. Within the application process, the city does say that signs visible to the public must not abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or violates the legal rights of others; and forbids signs with sexual content, profanity, vulgarity, obscenity, racism, hatred, slander, threats, and/or violence.

Camera has been involved in the past as part of his activism on the right. In March, Camera got into a shouting match with protesters outside of a Republican Club of Laguna Woods event which featured Jeffrey Scott Brown as a paid speaker. Brown was convicted of assaulting police officers and received a sentence of four and a half years in prison after he was caught pepper spraying police officers during the 2021 Capitol Riot. The Republican Club event was held at Clubhouse 5 within Laguna Woods Village, a private 55 and older community in Orange County.

Camera’s World War III lecture draws his accelerationist conspiracy theories directly from antisemitic beliefs involving the Rothschild family; he claimed that in 1933 Jewish people declared war on Nazi Germany and that Antifa was created as a shock troop program for that war. Many of his theories echo those of conspiracy theorists like Alex Jones or David Icke. Nearly all of his statements had no attribution, and were based on or resembled antisemitic beliefs about the banking industry.

Sanchez has identified himself in multiple sources as a white nationalist, and has associated himself with neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups for years. Like Taurus, Sanchez has often disrupted Republican events; he targets them because he feels that the party is not antisemitic enough and has abandoned “western values.” While livestreaming at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in 2024, Sanchez praised Adolf Hitler, referencing “Untermenschen,” and giving Nazi salutes while harassing journalist Amanda Moore.

Sanchez’ ties to neo-Nazis goes deeper and more explicit than Taurus or Camera: he’s posted pictures of himself alongside members of the neo-Nazi group Rise Above Movement (RAM). Referring to charges they received for their actions in the deadly 2017 Charlottesville “Unite The Right” Sanchez later wrote in 2022 “I am proud to have known such men as Rob Rundo, Ben Daly, Tom and Michael…”

Groups that marched alongside Sanchez attacked a man in September shortly after a vigil for slain right-wing pundit Charlie Kirk. Groups that participated included neo-Nazi “active clubs,” from throughout California as well as Patriot Front. Sanchez was seen giving orders to the groups, and leading speeches as well as giving march orders. After the attacks, Sanchez took to social media multiple times to brag about the attack. A family member of Camera’s could be seen gleefully taking selfies alongside members of white nationalist group Patriot Front, pointing at a red Make America Great Again hat.

Using the alias “Culture Warlord,” in 2022 during Canada’s Trucker Convoy protests, Sanchez encouraged Canadians to press on to the capital and offered financial or fundraising support to those willing to go. Much of his rhetoric contained dog whistles and even implied joyously that Canadians were on a path towards a more explicitly nationalist future.

Later, Sanchez took to the American Trucker Convoy protests in an even more explicit way. When the group The People’s Convoy left from Adelanto, Sanchez posted video of supporters along the way as he traveled with them.

Even while The People’s Convoy had ties to other groups labeled as extremist, a prominent member of the convoy and Threeper leader Erik Rohde encouraged others in the group to “make him unwelcome.”

Later, The People’s Convoy denounced Sanchez via social media saying “It has come to our attention that there [are] some people using our posts and our images as their own for their personal gain. While some people may be independent journalists riding in the convoy, The People’s Convoy does not endorse nor support the views on their page. Also, when they ask for donations, know that they are going to their pockets, not in support of the convoy.”

Nick Taurus ran as a Republican candidate in the June 7, 2022 primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in California’s 40th Congressional District. He received just over one percent of the vote. His campaign also identified his occupation at the time as “junk‐hauler.” His campaign statements were filled with bizarre hate-ridden conspiracy theories, claiming he would stand up to a “gay Mafia,” and disrupting Republican events wearing orange “RINO Hunter,” t-shirts; the O in RINO was a crosshair.

Taurus also seems to have an affinity for anti-LGBTQ and hardline nationalist Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán; he’s posted pictures of students he claimed to teach in Hungary giving “ok,” hand gestures while in front of a poster that says “it’s okay to eat a whole pizza by yourself.” 

“It’s Okay to EAT A Whole PIZZA BY yourself” (@InMinivanHell via Twitter)

He’s been a staple of far-right events in both Orange County and Southern California overall; he’s taken particular umbrage at then-Congresswoman Katie Porter. For years, and even before Taurus ran against her he’d devote significant time in his life towards bizarre antisemitic conspiracy theories involving Porter.

At a rally in 2022, Taurus would call others along to disrupt a town hall of then-Rep. Katie Porter. “CONFRONT KATIE PORTER!” one social media post said. Taurus would say that Porter had “America Last” policies. Once there, Taurus and a small contingent of his supporters would walk around asking people if they were American, and occasionally spout homophobic or Islamophobic slurs. Eventually, they were confronted and a shoving match ensued.

Porter later went on Pod Save America and accused the Republican party of failing to condemn Taurus and his antics. “Confronting someone is an aggressive act, it’s not an act of mutual respect,” Porter said to Pod Save America.

After he disrupted Porter’s event, Taurus went on social media and recorded a rambling antisemitic account of the incident accusing J Street donors to the Porter campaign of being “a foreign lobby.” Later, Taurus would claim his supporters are “ready to wage war on the globalists,” in a post about the event.

Though many of Taurus’ tactics, allies like Nick Fuentes and Ryan Sanchez and stated beliefs could widely be compared to that of the Groyper movement, Taurus told Ten Four at a protest against Burbank Pride in 2022 that “he’d aged out of the Groyper movement.” When asked for clarification, Taurus grabbed his groin and began to continue screaming homophobic slurs.