The white nationalist who was caught on camera saying “hail Trump” during an event last Saturday to a crowd of cheering spectators, some of whom responded with Nazi-like salutes, is being assailed by the elite Dallas prep school he attended in the 1990s.
And former classmates of Richard Spencer, who heads an organization that has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a leader in "academic racism," have raised more than $40,000 in his name for an aid group that resettles refugees.
The fundraiser was launched last week with a goal of $20,000, the Dallas Morning News reported.
In a statement published Friday, the headmaster of St. Mark’s School of Texas, David W. Dini, did not name 38-year-old Spencer, who also is a seminal figure in the so-called "alt-right" movement, but referred to the video footage that featured him and said that the “alumnus” leading the event was “bringing even greater attention to these hateful, divisive, racist, and anti-Semitic views. This has been deeply troubling and terribly upsetting to our whole school community.”
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Dini said that the school "reject[s] and bigotry in all its forms and expressions. Our mission, values, and programs stand in direct opposition to these vulgar ideas. In light of such comments, our mission to develop boys of strong character, compassion, empathy, and courage has increasing relevance and importance."
Spencer, who has described his remarks at the event as "ironic" and "cheeky," did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Related: White Nationalist Alt-Righter Claims 'Hail Trump' Comments Were 'Ironic'
Though Trump did not address Spencer's comments, his transition team said the president-elect "has continued to denounce racism of any kind and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American. To think otherwise is a complete misrepresentation of the movement that united Americans from all backgrounds."
It is unclear who started the fundraiser, but in a statement posted on Crowdrise, its organizers describe themselves as “friends and alumni of all classes of St. Mark’s School of Texas."
"We are of different political parties and views, but unite in recognizing that these values are under attack by our white supremacist classmate Richard B. Spencer '97," the statement read. "Spencer's views are un-American and a threat to civil society. We reject them and urge everyone to join us in condemning him and his agenda."