{{Short description|Right wing activist}} {{Infobox person | name = John Turano | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --> | birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per WP:DOB. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --> | birth_place = | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (DEATH date then BIRTH date) --> | death_place = | other_names = Based Spartan | movement = Alt-right | years_active = | known_for = Street fighting with Antifa protesters }} '''John Turano''', also known as '''Based Spartan''', has been described as an "icon of the alt-right 'Patriot' movement, who was known for brawling with Antifa protesters in the early days of the Trump administration in 2017.<ref name=Vice>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-rise-and-fall-of-based-spartan/|title=The Rise and Fall of Based Spartan|website=Vice.com|date=28 March 2018|access-date=19 November 2020|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116203709/https://www.vice.com/en/article/9kgax8/the-rise-and-fall-of-based-spartan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Shepherd">{{cite news |last1=Shepherd |first1=Katie |title=A Leading Figure at Portland's Alt-Right Protests Defects, Says Dressing as a Spartan Warrior to Fight Antifa Was "a Horrible Mistake" |url=https://www.wweek.com/2017/07/30/a-leading-figure-at-portlands-alt-right-protests-defects-says-dressing-as-a-spartan-warrior-to-fight-antifa-was-a-horrible-mistake/ |access-date=November 19, 2020 |work=Willamette Week |date=July 30, 2017 |archive-date=November 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112013841/https://www.wweek.com/2017/07/30/a-leading-figure-at-portlands-alt-right-protests-defects-says-dressing-as-a-spartan-warrior-to-fight-antifa-was-a-horrible-mistake/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=mic>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mic.com/articles/183101/alt-right-mascot-regrets-everything-says-he-made-a-horrible-mistake|title=Alt-right mascot regrets everything, says he made a "horrible mistake"|first=Jack|last=Smith IV|website=Mic|date=31 July 2017|access-date=19 November 2020|archive-date=12 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030037/https://www.mic.com/articles/183101/alt-right-mascot-regrets-everything-says-he-made-a-horrible-mistake|url-status=live}}</ref>
Turano was among a group of far-right activists who attacked the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, DC on December 12, 2020.<ref name = CNN>{{cite news | last =Campbell | first =Josh | title =Proud Boys members ordered to pay over $1 million in 'hateful and overtly racist' church destruction civil suit | newspaper =CNN | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =July 1, 2023 | url =https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/01/politics/proud-boys-fined-ame-church-destruction/index.html | access-date =July 1, 2023 | archive-date =July 1, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230701212447/https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/01/politics/proud-boys-fined-ame-church-destruction/index.html | url-status =live }}</ref> In June 2023, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz imposed civil penalties of over $1 million on Turano and three members of the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, Joe Biggs and Jeremy Bertino in connection with the 2020 attack on the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. Kravitz said that the four men had engaged in "hateful and overtly racist conduct"<ref name = CNN/>
Turano lives in Los Angeles, as of 2018.<ref name=Vice/> On July 17, 2021, Turano was involved in a violent protest in Los Angeles in connection with the Wi Spa controversy.<ref>{{cite news | last =Owen | first =Tess | title =Proud Boy Associates, Antifascists, and Cops Violently Clashed Over an LA Spa's Trans Policy: Dozens were arrested as police fired less-lethal rounds at activists after the far right turned the Wi Spa in Koreatown into a lightning rod for anti-trans extremism. | newspaper =Vice News | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =July 19, 2021 | url =https://www.vice.com/en/article/proud-boy-associates-antifascists-and-cops-violently-clashed-over-an-la-spas-trans-policy/ | access-date =July 1, 2023 | archive-date =July 1, 2023 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20230701225825/https://www.vice.com/en/article/4av7jw/proud-boy-associates-antifascists-and-cops-violently-clashed-over-an-la-spas-trans-policy | url-status =live }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turano, John}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Alt-right activists Category:Activists from Los Angeles {{US-activist-stub}}