To Catch a Fascist

Christopher Mathias is a journalist covering the far right. Previously a senior reporter at HuffPost, he’s done work for MSNBC, Zeteo, and WNYC. His reporting chronicled the rapid radicalization of the GOP, and has helped unmask white supremacist cops, soldiers, teachers, and politicians. Mathias was a Deadline Awards finalist for feature writing. He lives in New York and goes by @LetsGoMathias on BlueSky and X.

?“This absorbing book documents attempts by activists who are part of the Antifa movement to expose and sabotage far-right-wing groups. Mathias, a seasoned journalist who has long covered the far right, shows how activists variously confront and infiltrate such groups and reveal their members to the public. These campaigns rely on the notion that being found to be part of a white-supremacist group has social costs, like the loss of a job. But, as a former member of Patriot Front, a fascist organization, tells Mathias, the rise of figures such as Donald Trump could be taken to indicate that, in the U.S., ‘there’s almost already no stigma’ around white nationalism.”—The New Yorker “[An] urgent, eye-opening debut. . . . It's a by turns heart-pounding and heartening glimpse of the fight against fascism in the shadows.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Detailed and disturbing . . . A timely and troubling account of anti-fascist goals and methods.”—Kirkus “Christopher Mathias has written an investigation of an underground political world that reads like a spy thriller—exposing the ups and downs of antifascist activists infiltrating and undermining fascist groups, as a far-right tide grows across America. No one knows this subterranean war better than Mathias, who has gained unprecedented access to this rarely seen community and their neo-Nazi foes. To Catch a Fascist is both a gripping read and one that's more urgent than ever.”—Will Sommer, author of Trust the Plan: The Rise of QAnon and the Conspiracy That Unhinged America  “A thoughtful, urgent and tightly researched exploration of antifascism in America beyond scaremongering headlines—one that reflects the principles and investigative skills of one of the best reporters on the far-right beat in the US. A riveting must-read from one of our most important writers that could not be more timely.” —Tal Lavin, author of Wild Faith  “A gripping, clear-eyed account of the courageous Americans who took it upon themselves to infiltrate, document, expose, and hold to account extreme right-wing radicals bent on taking the United States back to the Nineteenth Century. There is no both-siding here, no equivocating, no compromise with authoritarian politicians and their Neo-Fascist foot soldiers like so many of this country’s ‘august’ media, academic, and private institutions. These Americans do not forgive, and they do not forget.” —Ali Winston, co-author of The Riders Come Out at Night  “It's never been more important to understand what it means to be anti-fascist. Mathias' book is an illuminating look at a largely untold history, deftly written with a journalist's immediacy and moral clarity.” —Marisa Kabas, independent journalist at The Handbasket