White nationalist Richard Spencer 'banned from 26 European countries'

Mr Spencer popularised the term "alt-right".
David J. Phillip/AP
Alexandra Richards23 November 2017

A leading figure of the US white nationalist movement has reportedly been banned from 26 European countries.

Richard Spencer, who popularised the term "alt-right", is allegedly blocked from entering the countries in Europe's visa-free Schengen area for five years, according to an unnamed source close to Poland's foreign ministry.

But the far-right commentator claims he has not received government confirmation of the ban.

Poland’s state run news agency PAP reported that Polish authorities had banned Richard Spencer from entering the two dozen countries.

The source confirmed the ban was going ahead but kept his identity hidden as he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the ministry.

White nationalist Richard Spencer speaks to media in August this year.
Getty Images

This is not the first time Mr Spencer has been banned from Schengen countries. In 2014 he was banned for three years following an arrest in Hungary where he had been attempting to hold a white nationalist conference.

Speaking to the Associated Press, Mr Spencer said: “I'm being treated like a criminal by the Polish government.

"It's just insane," he said. "I haven't done anything. What are they accusing me of?"

He said he plans to contest the ban.

Mr Spencer is at the forefront of the “alt-right” fringe movement that encourages racist, anti-Semitic and anti-immigrant beliefs.

In August he was scheduled to speak at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a car ploughed into a group of protesters and killed a woman.

Mr Spencer said that after finding out that the Polish Government wanted to ban him from the country, he cancelled a trip to Warsaw that he had planned for earlier this month.

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