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The uproar over Tucker Carlson’s interview with white nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes has sparked yet another round of MAGA civil war talk.

Full disclosure: I previously worked for Carlson at the Daily Caller, so I’ve had a front-row seat for this ongoing battle for a long time now.

In case you missed the latest: Carlson invited Fuentes onto his podcast. What followed wasn’t an interview so much as a warm bubble bath of mutual validation — the kind of “conversation” that helps launder extremist ideas.

Enter Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation — once the intellectual vanguard of conservatism, now something closer to an emotional support group for people who think President Reagan was too soft. Responding to whispers that Heritage might distance itself from Carlson, Roberts rushed out a video to reassure the faithful: Heritage will have no enemies to its right.

Roberts disagreed with Fuentes (good for him) but insisted Heritage didn’t become the top conservative think tank by “canceling our own people or policing the consciences of Christians.” He also called Carlson’s critics a “venomous coalition” who “serve someone else’s agenda” — which echoes one of the oldest antisemitic tropes in the book.

And then something surprising happened: People inside Heritage actually pushed back (a brave move, given Heritage’s Orwellian “one voice” policy). Some even resigned.

The broader right-wing commentariat weighed in, too. Ben Shapiro called Carlson an “intellectual coward.” Ted Cruz made some noise. The Wall Street Journal editorial board huffed. And talk radio host Mark Levin criticized Fuentes and Carlson during a speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition. For a brief moment, it looked like accountability was actually trending.

But … why this moment? Why now?

Keep in mind: Then-former President Trump dined with Fuentes in 2022 and wrongly claimed immigrants were eating pets in 2024. As president, he told the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” in 2020. And of course he launched his political career by questioning President Obama’s birth certificate. I could go on.

Despite all of this, Trump’s grip on the conservative movement only grew firmer.

Meanwhile, right-wing antisemitism has metastasized on Trump’s watch — despite his support for Israel.

Charlottesville, anyone?

The “alt-right” has shed its “alt.” They’re just “right” now.

This is especially observable when it comes to young conservatives who came of age during the Trump era. Indeed, one Heritage staffer told the New York Post that “a growing number” of Heritage interns “actually agree” with Fuentes.

And here’s the irony: The same conservative media figures now sounding the alarm helped build the machine.

Take Levin. Fuentes recently admitted that it was Levin’s radio show that first radicalized him. “He planted the seed, at least,” Fuentes told Carlson.

Likewise, aside from endorsing Trump in 2024, Shapiro made conspiracy theorist Candace Owens famous when his Daily Wire hired her to host a podcast on its platform after she became buddies with Kanye West and after she suggested the only problem with Adolf Hitler was that “he had dreams outside of Germany.”

So if these more mainstream Trumpers are horrified now, it’s probably because they helped create monsters — and those monsters are now coming to devour their creators, as monsters always do.

Rest assured, though, this rot is not limited solely to antisemitism. In recent months, MAGA figures such as Vivek Ramaswamy, FBI Director Kash Patel and even Vice President JD Vance (who is married to an Indian American woman) have all been targets of racist abuse online.

It’s important to note that none of these folks are considered “Never Trump” or Reagan conservatives. They are Trump allies. The revolution devours itself. (First they came for the Never Trumpers.…)

Again, this is far from the first skirmish in the MAGA civil war. But all of these internecine fights obscure the root cause of the problem: Trump. And yet, the orange emperor himself? Off-limits.

The fever won’t break while Trump’s still around, serving as a magnet for the worst people and cultivating the toxic ecosystem that made all of this right-wing racism possible, if not inevitable.

So by all means, conservatives: Condemn Carlson, denounce Fuentes and scold Heritage for failing to police the right and only punching left.

But as long as you avert your eyes from Trumpism, your righteous outrage is just theater — the political equivalent of aggressively mopping the floor while the pipes keep bursting.

Matt K. Lewis is the author of “Filthy Rich Politicians” and “Too Dumb to Fail.”

BROADVIEW, Ill. — Federal agents detained multiple people Friday near an immigration facility outside Chicago that has frequently been targeted by protesters during President Trump’s administration’s surge of immigration enforcement this fall.

A crowd grew over several hours, some riled by newly installed barricades to separate them from law enforcement officers stationed outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in Broadview, about 12 miles (19 kilometers) west of Chicago.

Some protesters have aimed to block vehicles from going in or out of the area in recent weeks, part of growing pushback to a surge of immigration enforcement that begin in early September. Federal agents have repeatedly fired tear gas, pepper balls and other projectiles toward crowds and at least five people have faced federal charges after being arrested in those clashes.

Local law enforcement stepped up their own presence Friday, closing several streets around the facility and putting Illinois State Police officers wearing riot helmets and holding batons on patrol. The state police set up concrete barriers Thursday night to segregate protesters and designate spaces to demonstrate.

It was unclear how many people were detained Friday. One man was seen struggling on the ground with agents after he appeared to break through a line into the roadway and in front of a vehicle.

Mostly reporters and a handful of protesters stood within the designated protest zone in front of the ICE facility as helicopters hovered overhead.

“Every week, ICE escalates its violence against us,” said Demi Palecek, a military veteran and candidate for Congress. “With this level of escalation, it’s only a matter of time before someone is killed.”

Several demonstrators said they were frustrated by the designated protest zone, saying keeping them off public streets violated their First Amendment right to free speech. Others were angered by officers from local or state agencies standing shoulder-to-shoulder with federal officers, including Homeland Security Investigations, ICE, the Bureau of Prisons and others.

Most ignored the zone to protest on the other side of the facility, where Illinois State Police officers held them back.

Jonny Bishop, a 28-year-old former teacher from Palatine, Illinois, said attempting to designate a “free speech zone” infringes on protesters’ First Amendment rights.

“As the day went on, we were progressively pushed, not just by ICE but also by Broadview Police Department,” he said. “We’ve done these things peacefully…But our rights are being violated.”

Bishop, from a Mexican immigrant family, said he has been hit by tear gas and pepper balls at previous protests. He said the main contrast between Friday’s protests and earlier efforts is local, county and state law enforcement agencies working alongside federal agents.

“ICE acts with impunity,” he said. “They know that they can shoot at us. They can tear gas us. And Broadview Police Department is not going to do anything.”

At one point, state police officers joined Border Patrol in advancing toward protesters, forming a larger perimeter around the building. Some protesters yelled in law enforcement officers’ faces while the officers grabbed them by the shoulders and pushed them back.

Fernando and O’Connor write for the Associated Press. O’Connor reported from Springfield, Ill. AP journalists Erin Hooley and Laura Bargfeld contributed to this report.

A neon green sex toy was thrown from the stands and landed on the court during the second quarter of Tuesday night’s Sparks win over the Indiana Fever at Crypto.com Arena.

With 2:05 remaining in the first half, the sex toy landed in the paint near Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who recoiled before Sparks guard Kelsey Plum kicked the object off the hardwood.

Spectators at Crypto.com Arena responded with boos, many turning toward the sections behind the basket closest to the Sparks bench where the sex toy appeared to have been thrown from. Security rushed into the stands in an apparent attempt to identify who was responsible.

“I think it’s ridiculous, it’s dumb, it’s stupid,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “It’s also dangerous and players’ safety is number one. Respecting the game. All those things. I think it’s really stupid.”

Cunningham, who was seen laughing as she walked toward the Sparks’ bench after the sex toy landed, had previously expressed concern about the trend on social media, saying that it’s “going to hurt one of us.” After Tuesday’s game, she shared that X post with the caption: “this did NOT age well.”

The game continued without interruption, but the incident added to a growing list of cases where fans have thrown inappropriate objects toward the court during WNBA games.

“We did a great job, Indiana included, just playing it off,” Plum said. “Just don’t give it any attention. And the refs — I appreciated them too — just like, ‘Hey, let’s go.’ ”

Tuesday’s incident in Los Angeles was at least the fourth time in less than two weeks that a sex toy has been thrown toward the court during a league game. On Friday in Chicago, a sex toy was tossed under the basket during a play that was stopped. On July 30, a green sex toy landed near the court and bounced forward during a Dream game in Atlanta — an incident that resulted in a fan’s arrest and one-year ban from WNBA arenas.

A fan posted on social media that a green sex toy was tossed toward the court during the Dallas Wings at New York Liberty game Tuesday night, landing in the stands and nearly hitting a child. A similar incident has been reported in Phoenix, where the toy did not reach the court.

The WNBA released a statement emphasizing that throwing objects into the court area is a violation of league policy and local laws.

“The safety and well-being of everyone in our arenas is a top priority for our league. Objects of any kind thrown onto the court or in the seating area can pose a safety risk for players, game officials, and fans,” the league statement read. “In line with WNBA Arena Security Standards, any fan who intentionally throws an object onto the court will be immediately ejected and face a minimum one-year ban in addition to being subject to arrest and prosecution by local authorities.”

On Tuesday, no announcement was made indicating whether the individual who threw the sex toy at Crypto.com Arena was located or ejected.

Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie was left bloodied after being struck by what seemed to be a seat – thrown by one of his own fans – amid a pitch invasion following his side’s Scottish Premiership defeat at Dundee United.

Unused subtitute MacKenzie was on the pitch while the United supporters invaded the playing surface after their side denied Aberdeen fourth place.

And he was felled by a projectile hurled from the area of the ground that housed a travelling support restricted in number after objects were aimed at United manager Jim Goodwin in the last meeting at Tannadice.

Speaking to BBC Scotland after his side sealed a European place on Saturday, Goodwin labelled the incident “a disgrace”.

“I deliberately took myself off the pitch as quickly as I could because we’ve had previous with the Aberdeen supporters in the past,” the former Pittodrie boss said.

“I’m really disappointed to hear young Jack has been hit by an object thrown by his own supporters. He’s inside having stitches now, it’s an absolute disgrace.

“It’s probably taken something as serious as this to happen for the authorities to finally step in and do something about it to identify these idiots who let down a really good club.”