Black, Gay Republican Heckled With Slurs at MAGA Event

A Black and gay Republican influencer shared a video showing what he described as "White Supremacists" shouting slurs at him.

Rob Smith, an Army veteran, shared the video on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.

"Last night in Phoenix, I was confronted and surrounded by some White Supremacists that don't like gays or blacks in the Republican Party," Smith wrote in the post.

"They shouted 'n*****' and 'f*****' at me to make their point. However, I served in Iraq. I never back down. Ever."

Some in the video appear to be chanting "gay sex" after Smith says "Look at that, I've got some fans." Then, others can be heard shouting the homophobic slur at him before switching to "America First," but no racial slurs were heard in the clip Smith shared. The video can be seen here.

The incident occurred at an event hosted by Republicans for National Renewal, a pro-Trump conservative advocacy group, CNN reported.

"The individuals involved were members of the public without any association with us and we were actively involved in defusing the situation and ensuring attendee safety," the group said in a statement. "These sorts of actions are not welcome at our events and the individuals involved will be excluded from future events."

Newsweek has contacted the group for further comment via social media.

Smith and other conservatives were in Phoenix for Turning Point USA's AmericaFest, a four-day event that ran through Tuesday.

Smith declined to comment when contacted by Newsweek.

"This did not occur at our event," a spokesperson for Turning Point USA told Newsweek. "Regardless, their behavior is disgusting and if it had happened here, these individuals would have been promptly removed."

The post has amassed more than 3 million views and prompted several conservatives to send messages of support to Smith.

"Rob, I'm so sorry you had to go through this," conservative activist Scott Presler wrote.

"This is completely unacceptable & doesn't represent the America First vision. The best thing we can do is lead by example. Let's keep registering voters, recruiting volunteers, & prepare for victory in 2024."

Christina Pushaw, the rapid response director on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign, wrote: "This is embarrassing behavior. All I can say is their gutter trash talk gets rewarded online, and some of them are delusional enough to think they can act the same in real life."

J.R. Majewski, a Republican congressional candidate, wrote: "I was there... when I heard the commotion, I stood up for Rob and made sure he got out of there safely. This is the unfortunate reality of a fractured party without leadership."

Others had little sympathy for Smith.

"A gay black man walks into a White Supremacist Convention & is SHOCKED to see White Supremacists," actor Tom Arnold wrote. "I hope your grift is worth it buddy."

Another wrote that Smith "joined the face-eating leopard party and is shocked the leopards are eating his face."

Smith, the author of Always a Soldier: Service, Sacrifice, and Coming Out as America's Favorite Black, Gay Republican, previously told Newsweek that declaring that he is a conservative was harder for him than coming out as gay.

"Honestly, coming out as conservative has been more of an earth-shattering, life-altering move for me, personally, than coming out as gay was," Smith said in 2018.

"I came out [as gay] to my family and friends but coming out as conservative has been a very public thing...For me, this process has been more difficult to navigate than the process of coming out as gay."

Update 12/20/23, 5:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include further information and a statement from Turning Point USA.