One of the most active Youth for Western Civilization chapters in the country can be found on the campus of Washington State University.

Up until recently the chapter was run by a student named Phil Tignino. Tignino has since graduated from Washington State and, not surprisingly, has made his way to Arlington, VA, which has become the de facto “home base” for YWC. YWC founder Kevin DeAnna, as well as other YWC affiliates like Marcus Epstein, live in the area.

Phil recently ended up finding a full time job in Arlington with the anti-immigrant group ProEnglish, where he is the website and social media manager. Phil is the latest in the long line of connections between YWC and the anti-immigrant movement, both of which have strong links to white nationalism.

YWC has developed strong ties to individuals and organizations in the white nationalist movement over the past three years. Most recently, YWC member Mathew Heimbach appeared on a video with a member of the Maryland division of the racist group League of the South (LOS) at LOS’s annual conference. In the video both men talk about the similarities between YWC and LOS, and Heimbach himself even talks about his plans for organizing Confederate pride events at Towson University this coming school year.

YWC also has strong connections to the Council of Conservative Citizens (CofCC), a white nationalist group that has called blacks a “retrograde species of humanity.”

For example, back in May an article appeared on white nationalist activist Jared Taylor’s American Renaissance website, advertising an event featuring a YWC activist who was speaking before the Washington, DC, chapter of the CofCC. The article was removed hours later, and YWC leader Kevin DeAnna denied the connection between the CofCC and YWC. YWC members, though, have attended CofCC national conferences in the past.

In addition, YWC has invited white nationalists such as Richard Spencer to speak to its chapters. Furthermore, Youth for Western Civilization members have sought to establish relationships with European far-right political parties such as Belgium’s Vlaams Belang and European nationalist groups like Germany’s Pro Cologne and Austria’s Freedom Party, as well. The group also allies itself with far-right politicians in the US, like Tom Tancredo.  Jared Taylor also recently collaborated with YWC for a fundraising event, as well.

At this year’s Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) Conference in Washington, DC, ample evidence connecting YWC to both the white nationalist movement and the anti-immigrant movement was on display. At YWC’s panel, white nationalists Jared Taylor and William Johnson were in attendance. At the YWC booth, members like Phil Tignino were passing out copies of The Social Contract, the racist journal published by long-time white nationalist John Tanton, the founder of the modern day anti-immigrant movement.

In the booth next to YWC was the group ProEnglish, an anti-immigrant group founded by John Tanton and the group that Phil Tignino now works for—coincidence?