A candidate for the US House of Representatives has purchased the controversial web domain nazis.us and configured it to redirect visitors to the official website of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The political stunt is a direct protest against immigration enforcement tactics and the current trajectory of the Republican party.
A Political Protest in a Web Address
Mark Davis, a Democrat running for a congressional seat in Florida, publicly claimed responsibility for the action in a post on the social media platform X on Friday. Davis, who describes himself as "a dad in conservative Florida," stated he bought the domain because the Republican party under Donald Trump had gone "full fascist." He expressed frustration that figures in power had not raised sufficient opposition, leading him to take matters into his own hands. "I shouldn't have to do this," Davis later wrote on Threads, adding, "I watched elected leaders stay silent while this country goes with fascism."
According to records from the GoDaddy WHOIS database, the domain nazis.us was registered on 13 January by a user with a Florida mailing address. Despite a DHS spokesperson telling TMZ that the agency had "successfully blocked the redirect" by Thursday morning, the link remained active as of late Friday afternoon, successfully sending users to dhs.gov.
Context of Immigration Enforcement and Public Reaction
The redirect comes amid heightened scrutiny of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a agency under DHS. The move coincided with polling showing most Americans believed the killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis by an ICE agent highlighted systemic problems within the agency's operations. Good died during one of several violent encounters as federal officers responded to protests against the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns.
Critics of these aggressive enforcement tactics have frequently drawn comparisons to the Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany. This analogy was notably echoed by podcast host Joe Rogan following Good's death. The political symbolism of the domain was further underscored by a recent report from The Intercept, which revealed the DHS's official Instagram account had used a recruitment song popular in neo-Nazi spaces.
Online reaction to Davis's claim was sharply divided. Some commentators praised his actions as principled and courageous, while others mocked him and vowed to support his opponent in the upcoming midterm elections for Florida's 16th congressional district, currently held by Republican Vern Buchanan.
Broader Political Tensions
The incident highlights the deeply charged political atmosphere in the United States, where language and symbolism related to fascism and Nazism have become potent weapons. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly objected to such comparisons, stating in a November interview on CBS's 60 Minutes, "Look, they call me a Nazi all the time – I'm not a Nazi... I'm somebody that's saving our country."
Davis's digital protest, using a mere web address to channel a potent political message, demonstrates how modern political activism can leverage simple online tools to generate national controversy and debate over government policy and political rhetoric.
