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Who is Richard Spencer? White supremacist who yelled 'hail Trump' in 2016 votes for Joe Biden

The neo-Nazi activist tweeted that he had 'voted straight Dem' as he shared alongside a photo of his ballot

White supremacist Richard Spencer has officially voted for Joe Biden, just months after announcing his support for the Democratic presidential candidate and distancing himself from President Donald Trump. The neo-Nazi activist tweeted on November 3 that he had "voted straight Dem" as he shared alongside a photo of his ballot. "In referenda, I also voted FOR the expansion of gun rights in the state and AGAINST the expansion of marijuana legalization. To hell with libertarian ideology. I’m a libertarian when I want to be," he added.

In August, Spencer caused a stir among Trump critics after tweeting that he was "on Team Joe" and shared a self-made campaign slogan, "Liberals are clearly more competent." The 42-year-old, who was one of the key figureheads of the alt-right movement, explained his reasoning for backing the former vice president in a series of tweets.

"The MAGA/Alt-Right moment is over. I made mistakes; Trump is an obvious disaster; but mainly the paradigm contained flaws that we now are able to perceive. And it needs to end," Spencer wrote. "So be patient. We'll have another day in the sun. We need to recover and return in a new form." He added in another tweet, "I will never flip on my fundamental principles. (My principles were never voting for the supposed 'the lesser of two evils' or 'stopping big government.') Walking into certain defeat, even death, is not heroic. It's foolhardy. I have no sympathy for martyrs. I admire winners."

Spencer reiterated his support for Biden the following day while responding to a tweet from author Michael Rectenwald, who wrote that the White nationalist's decision to switch could be explained through his "right-wing collectivism." "Spencer is a collectivist, and he found that Trump is not. But Biden and the Democrats are collectivists," Rectenwald wrote, to which Spencer agreed but argued that Trump's 2016 messaging was "patently collectivist." "This — along with being a chaotic, wrecking-ball force— was what made [Trump] unique and worth supporting," he added. Four years later, however, Spencer said he realized how "ineffective, useless, and traitorous the GOP is."

The Southern Poverty Law Center has described Spencer as "a suit-and-tie version of the white supremacists of old." He first rose to prominence in 2016, when he shouted "Hail Trump!" and was greeted with Nazi salutes at an event in Washington shortly after Trump's victory. Earlier this year, however, Spencer said he regretted voting for the former real estate mogul after his decision to assassinate notorious Iranian general Qassem Soleimani. At the time, Spencer said he feared Trump had brought the US to the brink of war with Iran by approving the drone strike that resulted in Soleimani's death.

"I deeply regret voting for and promoting Donald Trump in 2016," Spencer tweeted. "To the people of Iran, there are millions of Americans who do not want war, who do not hate you, and who respect your nation and its history. After our traitorous elite is brought to justice, we hope to achieve peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness," he added.

That said, Spencer is also known for being one of the main organizers of the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which claimed the life of counter-protester Heather Heyer, who died after being struck by a car driven by white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr, Newsweek reported.