The Rise and Fall of an Alt-Right Gladiator

When John Turano showed up to a few major pro-Trump rallies last year in body armor and a Spartan helmet—brawling with Antifa protestors and confronting anyone who got in his way—he quickly became an icon of the alt-right "Patriot" movement. But after Turano, a.k.a. Based Spartan, realized that some of the people he’d aligned himself with were neo-Nazis, homophobes, and racists, he turned against the movement—going from alt-right celebrity to pariah overnight. VICE met up with Turano at his home in Los Angeles to hear why he joined the alt right in the first place, what it was like to rally with them, and why he decided to go his own way. Watch more HYSTERIA: https://vice.video/2G86QgY Click here to subscribe to VICE: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE Check out our full video catalog: http://bit.ly/VICE-Videos Videos, daily editorial and more: http://bit.ly/2Hf9aq9 More videos from the VICE network: http://bit.ly/2jLLjT3 Click here to get the best of VICE daily: http://bit.ly/1SquZ6v Like VICE on Facebook: http://bit.ly/2HewKmZ Follow VICE on Twitter: http://twitter.com/vice Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/2jLzgp5 Download VICE on iOS: http://apple.co/28Vgmqz Download VICE on Android: http://bit.ly/28S8Et0