CHRIS HAYES (HOST): Perhaps the most disturbing theme of the 2016 election so far has been the incidents of violence and verbal abuse hurled in the direction of protesters at Donald Trump rallies. Over and over again, with increasing frequency, over the past several months, often seemingly encouraged at the podium by Trump himself, these incidents are happening against the backdrop of two other equally disturbing phenomena: A growing list of avowed white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and white nationalists, who have thrown their support behind Donald Trump; and Trump's direct flirtation with white supremacists like David Duke, former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.
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HAYES: Trump's claim that he disavows Duke's support hasn't kept white supremacists away from his rallies. Yesterday another disturbing incident that brings this all together happened at one of his events. Several videos taken show a student at the University of Louisville over the weekend being pushed and shoved by Donald Trump supporters at a rally in Kentucky.
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HAYES: Now thanks to some excellent reporting from The Daily News, we know that one of the men pushing that young woman, who is wearing a Make America Great Again hat is Matthew Heimbach, who confirmed his identity to All In in a phone call earlier today. Heimbach is an unapologetic white supremacist and neo-Nazi. A leader of the Traditionalist Worker Party, last October he tweeted “Guess what, Jews, we're back” with a picture of him standing outside of the Holocaust museum. In December, he tweeted quote “Donald Trump said he is not bothered being compared to Hitler, political correctness is losing its grip on America” with the picture of people sieg heiling Trump. Earlier today he wrote of the incident, quote “I'll avoid any additional Trump events to ensure I don't become a distraction, but white Americans are getting fed up and they're learning they must either push back or be pushed down.” Like David Duke before him, Heimbach understands the way the game is played. That Trump will have to distance himself from him and other avowed white supremacists. But the fact of the matter is Trump is their guy and they are sticking with him.
