Politics
O’Donnell says campaign staff removed Nazi content from his fan forum
Republican Marty O’Donnell said he moved to remove pro-Nazi posts from his Discord fan forum after an Associated Press investigation found them there. The Nevada 3rd District candidate addressed the controversy at a Las Vegas rally alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson and other supporters.
LAS VEGAS — Marty O’Donnell, the Republican challenging Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, defended his response to pro-Nazi content found on a Discord fan forum he runs, saying he and his staff removed users after learning about the posts.
The comments came Oct. 20 at an O’Donnell campaign rally featuring House Speaker Mike Johnson and “Pawn Stars” personality Rick Harrison. Speakers voiced support for President Donald Trump and criticized Democrats, as O’Donnell seeks to unseat Lee in a closely contested House district.
An Associated Press investigation found multiple instances of pro-Nazi language in “The Marty Army,” a forum created for fans of O’Donnell’s composing work and video games, including “Halo.” Posts included the phrase “Heil Hitler” and a claim that Nazis “did some good things.” O’Donnell’s team removed more than 200 users from the forum earlier this year.
O’Donnell said the forum contained more than a million posts and described it as a free-speech space for fans. “As soon as I found out about it, we tried to squash all of it,” he said. “We missed a couple.”
A News 3 account that signed up to inspect forum posts was removed within two minutes, the station reported.
O’Donnell has also faced scrutiny over a podcast interview with far-right influencer Charles Cornish Dale, who Jewish Insider reported had posted Nazi-related material on X. O’Donnell blamed his production team for booking Dale.
Asked whether future constituents could be assured that his congressional office would not include voices banned from his forum, O’Donnell emphasized his support for Israel, saying he was “absolutely, unequivocally supporting of Israel.” The question, as presented in the report, concerned the forum and his prospective office.
The Republican Jewish Coalition continues to support O’Donnell’s campaign, while the Jewish Democratic Council of America supports Lee.