Commentator claims he was target of man holding a gun and crossbow who was later fatally shot by Illinois police
The far-right American political activist Nick Fuentes said he was a possible target of a man later fatally shot by Illinois police after the man apparently appeared at his door armed with a gun and a crossbow.
The man, 24-year-old John Lyons, who was also wanted in an earlier triple homicide, was shot and killed by police in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn after a Wednesday night foot chase, according to authorities. The pursuit started on the block where Fuentes, 26, lives.
Lyons appears to have shown up to Fuentes’s house with a pistol and a crossbow while the rightwing influencer was livestreaming, according to social media posts Fuentes made Thursday. Berwyn police confirmed it had responded to a report around 11.40pm of a man with a gun.
Fuentes, a white supremacist who has praised Adolf Hitler, commented on the incident in a series of X posts, alleging that the armed individual “made an attempt on my life”.
“I am grateful to God that I am still alive today,” he posted, and shared a surveillance video appearing to show a man with the weapons.
“While heartbreaking, it could have been so unimaginably worse,” the post continued. “God have mercy. Doxing is not a game.”
Last year, Fuentes was expelled from the Conservative political action conference over his history of openly promoting antisemitic and racist rhetoric. In 2022, he attended a dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Trump later said he didn’t know Fuentes or his background.
Following Wednesday’s incident, Fuentes said he will now “have to uproot my life and relocate. While I can handle whatever comes to my front door, it is irresponsible to expect my neighbors with young families to share that burden.”
Earlier this month, the commentator was charged with battery for allegedly pepper-spraying a woman who showed up at his home. A judge ordered him and the woman, 57-year-old Marla Rose, to have no contact with each other.
Lyons fled from officers on foot, according to police, and then forced his way into another home where he fatally shot two dogs. Police said Lyons disobeyed orders to stop and fired at officers. Officers then returned fire, killing Lyons.
Police believe Lyons committed a triple homicide in a small village about 11 miles north-west of Champaign earlier on Wednesday and named Sara Mason, 26; Janis Mason, 61 and Caleb Mason, 23, as victims.