Dillon Hopper | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dillon Irizarry 1988 (age 37–38) |
| Occupation | activist |
| Years active | 2016-present |
| Known for | Leader ofVanguard America Coordinator of theUnite the Right rally |
Dillon Irizarry (also known asDillon Hopper) is anAmericanfar-right activist known for founding and leading thealt-right andwhite supremacist groupVanguard America and being one of the principle coordinators of theUnite the Right rally.
Irizarry was born in 1988 inNew Mexico.[1] He graduated from high-school inRoswell, New Mexico in 2005 and then immediately enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps.[2] He joined the marines at the insistence of aBig Brothers Big Sisters of America mentor.[3]
Irizarry served in theWar in Afghanistan as ainformation security technician.[4] He was deployed duringOperation Iraqi Freedom in 2008, andOperation Enduring Freedom in 2010.[1] He rose to the rank ofstaff sergeant and remained in active duty until 2017.[1]
In 2006 he legally changed his name to Dillon Hopper, however, he still uses Irizarry when speaking on behalf of Vanguard America.[2]
Irizarry claims to have been aneo-fascist since 2012, the same year he started work as arecruiter for the marines.[1] Irizarry has been openly involved in Americanfar-right circles since at least 2016 when he gave a speech at a neo-Nazi gathering inPikeville, Kentucky.[4] This is despite the Marines policy prohibiting activity duty personnel from joining groups that "espouse supremacist causes."[1]
At the Kentucky speech he announced that he was the leader of a yet unheard of group,Vanguard America, which consisted of 200 members across 20 states.[4] Irizarry would later state that Vanguard America was founded in 2015 inCalifornia.[5] Irizarry also claimed that he was not the founder of Vanguard America, and that he took over leadership.[2] Irizarry structured Vanguard America as a hierarchical organization based onFührerprinzip, referring to himself as 'commander.'[2]
In June of 2017 Irizarry started to feud withThomas Rousseau, the leader of the "Southern Front" of Vanguard America, following the "Texas is Ours" rally inAustin where Rousseau gave a lengthy speech and sidelined Irizarry.[5] Irizarry claimed that Rousseau was attempting to portray himself as the leader of Vanguard America.[5]
Despite not participating in theUnite the Right rally himself, Irizarry was one of the event's key coordinators.[6] The rally started as a plan between Irizarry andMatthew Heimbach of theTraditionalist Worker Party to bring together all the far-right groups in the country.[6] The rally's leadership consisted of Irizarry, Heimbach,Jeff Schoep of theNational Socialist Movement, andMichael Hill of theLeague of the South withRichard B. Spencer andNathan Damigo ofIdentity Evropa being brought in later.[6] Irizarry himself would not attend the rally due to the death of his mother shortly beforehand.[1] Instead Rousseau would lead the Vanguard America group at the rally.[5]
The rally would be a disaster for the far-right, and Vanguard America specifically, due toJames Alex Fields, who attended the rally carrying a shield with the Vanguard America logo, and wore the Vanguard America uniform of a white polo and khakis, later drove into a crowd killing a counter-protester.[5][7] Irizarry has insisted that Fields had no affiliation to Vanguard America, and his presence alongside Vanguard America was due to poor leadership and uncooordination on the part of Rousseau.[1]
As Irizarry dealt with the aftermath of the rally, Rousseau, the Southern Front and most of the more moderate neo-Fascists split to formPatriot Front, seizing Vanguard America's website and discord servers. Despite this, Irizarry and Vanguard America continued to limp along, until 2018 when the more radical neo-Nazis split to form theNational Socialist Legion, after which Vanguard America has shown "very few signs of life" with Irizarry largely disappearing from public view.[5]
Irizarry has a brother who lives in Roswell.[3] Following his return to civilian life Irizarry has frequently moved around the country, living inCalifornia andOhio and by the time of Unite the Right had his official residence listed as inIndiana.[2][3]
Irizarry has explicitly stated that he and Vanguard America are not white supremacists or neo-Nazis but that he cares for "my ethnicity above any others" and has labeled himself as a Fascist.[8] Despite this, Irizarry also said he is opposed to multiculturalism, and claims the United States is a country for white people.[4]