Bryan Fischer -- a prominent host on extreme anti-LGBTQ group American Family Association’s (AFA) radio network American Family Radio -- once again falsely claimed that “that the Nazi Party started in a gay bar.” He also claimed that “you had no chance of advancing through the ranks unless you were a hardcore homosexual” and that “without exception, the officers in Hitler's private army were homosexuals.” 

Fischer has worked for AFA since 2009 and has repeatedly lied that gay people were responsible for the formation of the Nazi Party. This right-wing myth is patently false and is used to malign LGBTQ people while erasing the fact that Nazis arrested an estimated 100,000 gay men and sent between 5,000 and 15,000 of them to concentration camps.

During the December 31 episode of Fischer’s show Focal Point, he also claimed that the Nazis sent only “effeminate homosexuals” to concentration camps and that “in a lot of homosexual circles, they will dress up in Nazi gear as kind of reminiscent of how the entire Nazi Party got started.”

American Family Radio routinely spreads misinformation about LGBTQ people, and AFA regularly circulates petitions against companies that show any sign of support towards LGBTQ people. Recently, AFA announced that its president Tim Wildmon joined President Donald Trump’s Faith Advisory Council to “help guide the president’s faith-based initiatives, give insight on policy important to evangelicals and, most importantly, pray for the president.” However, the White House has since denied the existence of the council, though AFA has continued to promote Wildmon’s appointment to it. Advocacy organizations have said that an evangelical council operating “behind closed doors and away from any public scrutiny" would be “in violation of established law."