Former NYYRC treasurer Nicolas T. Rafael Jr. making what appears to be a Nazi salute while wearing German military garb.
On May 19, an X user with the handle @basedredford wrote, “It’s literally a historic FACT that your society will thrive when you kick the Jews out of town.” The user was fond of the phrases “Shut up, Jew” and “Jewish run account,” common troll responses by accounts associated with the antisemitic far right, and reposted images of Hitler and antisemitic caricatures. In one post, it accused Texas senator Ted Cruz of being an “Israel first goy slave.” The @basedredford account, which was public, also made numerous posts filled with slurs about gay people and Black Americans. It warned of “Muslim gang rapes” and directed a barb toward California governor Gavin Newsom that contained the N-word.
The account appears to have belonged to Nicholas T. Rafael Jr., the now-former treasurer of the New York Young Republican Club. The club, based in Manhattan, boasts a membership of nearly 2,000 that includes elected officials in Congress and New York power players. Three former members of the club confirmed Rafael’s connection to the account, which years ago posted to a Vine account tied to his name and appeared to be followed by nearly a dozen current members of the club as well as the club’s official X account and its Queens caucus account.
