Stew Peters

Stewart Peters(born April 1, 1980) is an Americanalt-rightinternet personality. He is known for promotingCOVID-19 misinformation and conspiracy theories,as well asantisemiticandwhite supremacistbeliefs.
Having previously been a rapper and bounty hunter,Peters launched theStew Peters Showin 2020, which airs on weekdays. His show routinely features conspiracy theories about governmental organizations, such as theCDC. His guests have included established proponents of conspiracy theories such asPaul GosarandMark Meadows.In 2022, Peters released the anti-vaccine filmDied Suddenly, and a subsequent 2023 film titledFinal Days.
Peters grew up inMinnesota.Initially, Peters thought he would become apolice officeror anentertainerduring high school.As a teenager, Peters was convicted for stealing stereo equipment from aRadioShackhe worked at.
After high school, Peters moved from Minnesota toLos Angeles, Florida and New York while pursuing a career as a rapper named Fokiss. As a rapper, he performed at several night clubs and bars around Minneapolis and Duluth including 7th St. Entry at the landmark1st Avenue.He briefly interned at 101.3 KDWB-FM in 1998.
In 2000, he auditioned for a film directed by Tyrel Ventura, the son of then-Minnesota governorJesse Ventura. After obtaining a lead role in the film, Peters lied to Ventura that his brother was a teen heartthrob who starred in a popular 1990s sitcom. Tyrel invited Peters to stay at the governor's residence in St. Paul during filming. Peters went home toApple Valley, a suburb 16 miles away, and later moved into the guest room of the governor's residence for several weeks, until he was evicted by the state troopers providing security for the governor.
Peters was a bounty hunter before producing internet content.He started moonlighting as a bounty hunter after he met someone in the business.
Peters claims to have headed a bounty hunting agency named Twin Cities Apprehension Team for several years.
In 2006, Peters was arrested in Florida for falsely impersonating an officer, unlawfully using a blue light and stealing less than $300 using a weapon. The charges were later dropped.
In 2015, Minnesota Law was changed to limit what bounty hunters can wear and drive, a change apparently aimed specifically at Peters, who dressed to resemble law enforcement officers.
On May 30, 2017, Peters' agency was involved in a shootout that left two agents and the fugitive dead. TCAT had tracked Ramon Hutchinson, wanted for failure to appear for a DUI court date, from Minnesota to Greenville, Texas. TCAT used an automobile tracking device to find Hutchinson. When two agents (Gabriel Bernal and Fidel Garcia Jr) approached Hutchinson, he pulled out a gun and opened fire. Both agents and the fugitive died.
Peters' bounty hunting agency closed in 2021 after Peters was found guilty ofdisorderly conductrelated to a domestic disturbance situation and was sentenced toprobation.
Peters launchedThe Stew Peters Showas a podcast in 2020, commenting on criminality and related topics, also giving air time to figures of theAmerican far-rightand the anti-vaccination movement (such asDel Bigtree).Peters uses his show to initiate or amplify a large number of rumors and fabrications widely known to bedisinformation. He uses violent rhetoric against marginalized groups, most notablyJews,Hindus, and theLGBT community. He promotes concepts linked toQAnonandwhite supremacy, and has expressed support forPizzagateandflat earthconspiracy theories.Because of his ability to incite his numerous followers to harass those he targets, extremism researcher Katie McCarthy has compared him toAlex Jones.
Peters interviewed several high-ranking figures of theMake America Great Againwing of theRepublican Party, such as PresidentTrump's nominee forDirector of the FBIKash Patel, who appeared multiple times.Peters spoke at the 2022America First Political Action Conference, where he called for the murders ofAnthony Fauci(lynched by hanging), andVernon Jones(executed byelectric chair).
In February 2023, following theOhio train derailment, atweetby Peters claiming that "journalists covering the story have been arrested" and dead fish and cattle were being found "as far as 100 miles away from the site" went viral, attracting about half a million likes. Only one journalist had been arrested.
In the summer of 2023, Peters claimed that thewildfires in Canadaand the ones inHawaiiwere the result of attacks by orbital energy weapon platforms, similarly toMarjorie Taylor Greene's statement about "Jewish space lasers". Experts have explained why this statement by Peters is clearly incorrect.
Peters has called for the execution ofHunter Biden, DrAnthony Fauci,Catholic Charitiesworkers,Taylor Swift, andTravis Kelcefor reasons ranging from Kelce promotingCOVID-19 vaccinesand the Catholic Charities workers aiding migrants to Biden being a "presidential failson" and Swift promoting "witchcraft".According to Peters' executive producerLauren Witzke, "It's not a Stew Peters rally unless we're calling for executions."
Peters is identified as the communications director of a militia movement headed by one Edward Lang, who is serving a prison sentence for assaulting a police officer during theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack. The North American Patriot and Liberty Militia was organized in 2024 in order to be ready to take action during the2024 United States presidential election.The same year, he called on his supporters to start gathering books they dislike from public libraries in anticipation of a book burning event he plans to organize.
Peters has promoted many white supremacist and antisemitic conspiracy theories and talking points.He has referred to Judaism as a "death cult built on the blood of murdered babies".He claimed that theTitan submersible implosionwas intentionally caused by theFederal Reserveto prevent investigations intothe Titanic, and agreed with a guest who blamed theRothschild familyandclaimed they control the Federal Reserve.He has repeatedly promoted thewhite genocideandGreat Replacementconspiracy theories.He has falsely claimed that Black people aregenetically proneto committing crime,and has referred toSomali refugees in Minnesotaas "double-digit IQ savages" who are "conquering" the state by"replacing" its flag, referencing perceived similarities to theflag of Jubaland.Peters has hosted noted white supremacists and antisemites such asNick Fuentes,Peter Brimelow,Cynthia McKinney, andSteven Andersonon his show.
In January 2024, Peters published a series of tweets insultingMartin Luther King Jr., including a claim that he "stud[ied]Jewish Bolshevism", a common antisemitic conspiracy theory,and baselessly claimed that theNew York City synagogue tunnel incidentwas a coverup for child sex trafficking.He has also claimed that Jews and Israel orchestrated theJanuary 6 attackin the U.S. in order to discredit American nationalists,and has promoted theneo-Nazipropaganda filmEuropa: The Last Battle.
On September 13, 2024, Peters posted onXa photo of himself holding a copy ofAdolf Hitler'sMein Kampf, with the caption "Visionary leadership".He later deleted the post.
From early in the pandemic, Peters joined other conspiracy theorists in peddling disinformation about COVID vaccines and public health measures.
Peters misrepresents scientific communications, and presents baseless theories as fact, to promote common conspiratorial disinformation narratives; COVID vaccination is part of an attempted genocide,military personnel getHIVfrom the vaccine,and that vaccinated people are frequently victims ofstrokesand penile rot.
In 2022, Peters started to produce long videos:These Little Ones, promoting theQAnonconspiracy about elites kidnapping children to drink their blood;Watch the Water, which claims that COVID-19 vaccines are derived fromsnake venomin order to transform people into "a hybrid ofSatan",andDied Suddenly,which promotesmisinformation about COVID-19 vaccinesandGreat Reset conspiracy theories.Peters publishes the videos onRumble, using Twitter andFacebookto amplify their distribution.His 2024 productionalleges the political class of the United states is controlled by a Jewish cabal.
Peters' Twitter account was suspended for a few months for breaching the platform's content policies, but was reactivated in mid-December 2022. Spotify and iHeartRadio have removed his content from their platform.
On May 30, 2023, Peters released a film titledFinal Dayson Twitter. The film features Karen Kingston, a formerPfizeremployee and anti-vaccine activistwho is presented as a biotech analyst and legal advisor.However, Lead Stories found that Kingston soldViagraand did not work on thePfizer vaccine.
In the film, Kingston promotes various false claims, including that the mRNA vaccines are bioweapons and that the COVID-19 vaccines containgraphene oxide. David Martin, a conspiracy theorist YouTuber and financial analyst, falsely claims that theSARS-CoV-1virus was developed at theUniversity of North Carolina. The film implies thatEvent 201shows that the COVID-19 pandemic was known about beforehand, and includes footage from the far-right activist groupProject Veritasin which an alleged Pfizer executive talks aboutgain-of-function researchat Pfizer. It ends with Kingston claiming thatWorld War IIIhas started, and that the culprits are theWorld Economic Forumand theGreat Reset.
Starting in 2022, Peters has been speaking at political events, favoring the more extreme varieties ofAmerican conservatism. He endorsed the unsuccessful candidate Kandiss Taylor in the Republican primary for the2022 Georgia gubernatorial election, and also supportedJanice McGeachinandWendy Rogers.
Peters is being sued by the General Manager of the London Bridge Resort inLake Havasu City, Arizona. Cal Sheehy, who is also Mayor of Lake Havasu City, alleges Petersdefamedhim on his show in September 2022, over adrag showthat was due to be held at the resort in February 2023. Peters allegedly shared Sheehy's contact information with his viewers, which resulted in threatening calls against him. As of August 2023, the case is due to be heard by an Arizona court.
In February 2024, Peters falsely accused gay influencer José Rolón of sexually abusing his own children in several videos. Peters's followers subsequently sent threatening messages to Rolón. In June, Peters took down the videos after Rolón sent acease and desistand threatened to sue Peters for defamation.That August, Rolón filed a defamation lawsuit against Peters.
In April 2024, Peters sued the producers ofDied Suddenly, including Lauren Witzke, for allegedly acting as its owners, falsely advertising a sequel and collecting donations on his behalf. Witzke, Edward Szall, Matthew Skow, and Nicholas Stumphauzer were identified as the defendants.
According toRolling Stone, Peters was charged withdriving while impairedin December 2024, after losing control of anall-terrain vehicle. As of February 2025, the charges had not been reviewed by the court and Peters had been released on bail.
Peters has two sons and a daughter. He has coached his sons' hockey teams.
In February 2021, Peters was arrested after his wife called the police, saying that he had come home drunk and started throwing things around the house. Peters later pleaded guilty to a charge ofdisorderly conductand was sentenced toprobation.Peters abandoned his bounty hunting business in this period.