Dan Schneider, the executive director of the American Conservative Union, on Thursday denounced the ethno-nationalist “alt-right” movement as an anti-Semitic, racist and sexist force trying to worm its way into the conservative movement.

“CPAC, we have been slapped in the face,” Mr. Schneider told attendees at the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference. “There is a sinister organization that is trying to worm its way in, into our ranks.”

“We must not be duped. We must not be deceived,” he said.

“Just a few years ago, this hate-filled, left-wing fascist group hijacked the very term ‘alt-right,’ ” he said. “That term, alt-right — it had been used for a long time in a very good and normal way, but this group has hijacked it.”

“We must not allow them to be normalized. They are not part of us,” he said.

“They are anti-Semites. They are racists. They are sexists,” he said. “They hate the Constitution. They hate free markets. … They despise everything we believe in.”

“They are nothing but garden variety left-wing fascists,” he said.

The alt-right movement gained notoriety during the 2016 campaign. In a speech in Las Vegas in August, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton tried to tie it to then-GOP nominee Donald Trump.

Though he has denied ties, provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has also been associated with the movement. CPAC organizers disinvited Mr. Yiannopoulos from speaking at the event this week after videos surfaced showing the former Breitbart News editor talking about relationships between young children and adults. He later clarified that he is opposed to pedophilia.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.