A Florida man running for a seat in the US House of Representatives has orchestrated a provocative online protest, purchasing the domain nazis.us and setting it to redirect visitors to the official website of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
A Political Statement Goes Viral
The stunt came to light on Friday when Mark Davis, a candidate seeking Republican Vern Buchanan's congressional seat in November's midterm elections, claimed responsibility in a post on X. Davis, who lists no party affiliation, explained his actions as a direct response to the political climate. "I'm a nobody. A dad in [conservative] Florida," Davis wrote. "And I'm the one who bought nazis.us because [Trump's Republican party] went full fascist."
He added with defiance that if those in power "won't fight Nazis, then a nobody fucking will." The domain redirect remained active over the weekend, with users typing nazis.us into a web browser being taken directly to dhs.gov, despite a DHS spokesperson telling TMZ they had "successfully blocked the redirect" by Thursday morning.
Context: ICE and the Gestapo Comparison
Davis's action taps into a deep vein of controversy surrounding US immigration enforcement. The protest coincided with polling showing most Americans believed the killing of Minneapolis woman Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent highlighted systemic problems within the agency. ICE is a component of DHS.
Good died during one of several violent encounters where federal officers, including ICE agents, clashed with community members during protests against the Trump administration's immigration policies. These tactics have led many critics to liken the agency's operations to those of the Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany. Notably, high-profile podcast host Joe Rogan made this comparison following Good's death, after having endorsed Donald Trump's 2024 presidential run.
Trump himself has repeatedly rejected such analogies. In a November interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, he stated, "Look, they call me a Nazi all the time – I'm not a Nazi... I'm somebody that's saving our country."
Mixed Reactions and Further Controversy
The move by Davis sparked intense debate online. While some praised him as principled and courageous, others mocked the gesture and vowed to work against his electoral campaign. On the social media platform Threads, Davis posted a message aimed at media inquiries, stating, "I shouldn't have to do this. But I watched elected leaders stay silent while this country goes with fascism."
Separately, a report from The Intercept added another layer to the story, noting that the DHS's official Instagram account had recently used a recruitment post featuring the song "We'll Have Our Home Again." The song is reportedly popular in neo-Nazi circles, with lyrics about reclaiming territory by "blood or sweat," echoing white supremacist rhetoric.
According to records from GoDaddy's WHOIS database, the domain nazis.us was registered on 13 January by a user with a Florida mailing address, aligning with Davis's claim.
