A statement from Evan McLaren

In 2018 I left my position at the National Policy Institute. A few months later I cut contact with Richard Spencer, and eventually with everyone with any connection to the far-right political milieu. 

I no longer have any sympathy for those causes, figures, and groups. While I do not traffic in regret, my involvement in right-wing activity was a desperate, foolish mistake, damaging to others, to myself, and to society.

While in 2017 I continued to dwell on the notion that the August rally in Charlottesville was a legally-permitted event and that the attendees were betrayed by law enforcement and the government, over time the reality took hold. Jason Kessler, the would-be speakers, and everyone who attended the rally were variously clownish, naive, reckless, or simply itching for a street fight with Antifa regardless of whether the event was “successful” or not. I was in the naive category.

I have been quiet since 2018, not maintaining a public social media presence or seeking attention for my opinions, and I intend to maintain this pattern. I thrive on family, work, fixing my house, and cultivating my hobbies. I lack the time, energy, or insight to regularly publish viewpoints that advance the public discussion, and regardless, it’s likely that the best move for someone who messed up as badly as I did is simply to go away and be quiet.

I’m momentarily breaking this pattern with a published statement. That people may assume I still hold radical views or remain actively connected to far-right political causes concerns me. I would understand, for example, if people in my local community who learned about me might worry about what I am up to, whether I hold and promote extremist views, or whether I’ll resume disruptive political activity in the future. Possibly worse, in my daily life I occasionally encounter Trump supporters, closet racists, and right-wingers of various stripes who learn about me and assume that I am some sort of sympathetic fellow traveler.

I am not and never will be connected to the far-right again. My revulsion for conservatism and the political right wing is total. I reject and disavow my past actions, views, and associations.

I apologize to everyone who was affected in any way by my past activities. The main purpose of this statement, however, is not to apologize. I do not realistically expect to repair my public reputation, to the extent that it meaningfully exists, or to heal rifts with people I have alienated. I don’t hope or expect to be forgiven. My only purpose here is that, on those occasions when someone happens to explore the Internet search results related to my name, they might also find this statement as an indication that, while I was a source of toxic energy and opinions in the past, I am at least not that anymore.