[1] Irizarry has been openly involved in American far-right circles since at least 2016 when he gave a speech at a neo-Nazi gathering in Pikeville, Kentucky.
"[1] At the Kentucky speech he announced that he was the leader of a yet unheard of group, Vanguard America, which consisted of 200 members across 20 states.
[6] The rally started as a plan between Irizarry and Matthew Heimbach of the Traditionalist Worker Party to bring together all the far-right groups in the country.
[6] The rally's leadership consisted of Irizarry, Heimbach, Jeff Schoep of the National Socialist Movement, and Michael Hill of the League of the South with Richard B. Spencer and Nathan Damigo of Identity Evropa being brought in later.
[3] Following his return to civilian life Irizarry has frequently moved around the country, living in California and Ohio and by the time of Unite the Right had his official residence listed as in Indiana.
[2][3] Irizarry has explicitly stated that he and Vanguard America are not white supremacists or neo-Nazis but that he cares for "my ethnicity above any others" and has labeled himself as a Fascist.