Nathaniel Rush

**Nathaniel Hudson Rush** **III** (born April 20th, 1986) is a Solician political commentator and radio host. He hosts the Internet and radio show, *Big Time Rush!,* every weekday at 9am RST. Since starting his show in 2016, he has become a premier right-wing and nationalist voice in Dexistan and throughout the Realm. Self-describing himself as a nationalist and "Solician restorationist", he has drawn significant criticism from figures and outlets across the political spectrum with the most common accusation of him being a Solician supremacist and racist.

## Life and Activities

Nathaniel Rush was born on April 20th, 1986 in the small town of Gobonia in the Derry Foothills. He was born to a middle class family and had three other brothers and sisters. His parents divorced at the age of nine. Despite this, he described his upbringing as "happy and largely carefree." He attended Lyons Township High School and graduated in 2004. He then applied to four different universities around the Realm in order to major in Solician history but was rejected due to his poor marks in his junior and senior years of high school. Feeling defeated and hopeless, he enlisted in the New Free Derry Home Guard in order to maintain adequate income and gain employment experience. He was subsequently dishonorably discharged in 2006 for sexually assaulting a woman at a tavern although he claims this was fabricated by his commanding officer due to a personal feud between the two.

After his discharge, he moved back in with his parents and suffered long bouts of unemployment and depression. Around 2008, he became immersed in the domain of far-left political activism, developing his ideas from socialist and anarchist philosophers he began to read in high school. Associating with radical anarchist and Villager liberation groups, he came to live in communal arrangements, surviving off of soup kitchens and odd jobs. Rush was arrested at various points, the most famous and notable incident occurring when, in October of 2009, he was pulled over by police on a bicycle for not wearing a helmet. After a brief exchange, the arresting officer requested Rush surrender the duffle bag on his back to a search. Rush refused and a struggle ensued on the sidewalk where several homemade explosives and knives spilled out of the bag as he was dragged to the ground. Surprisingly, he was never convicted of any crime after his numerous run-ins with law enforcement, leading to later accusations of Rush being a government informant.

After a third incursion and subsequent release by police in just six months, he was ostracized from many of his circles on suspicion of working with law enforcement. The last group he possessed serious ties with, the Worker's Liberation Front, soon became uncomfortable with his presence in their movement and voted to eject him at an impromptu meeting he attended in the city of New Free Derry. He became enraged and, possibly under the influence of alcohol and narcotics, physically assaulted the leader of the group. In the ensuing melee that took place in the cramped apartment, he was knocked unconscious and thrown off a balcony by his former comrades, presumably in a bid to kill him and dispose of witnesses. Despite falling three stories and sustaining blunt force trauma from several combatants, he survived and his condition soon stabilized at Mark Wahlberg General Hospital.

Soon after his recovery in 2011, he renounced his far-left political views, calling his former associates "liars" and "psychopaths." In regards to the roughly four year period he was involved in far-left political activism, he stated that he was in a "constant haze of drugs and alcohol" and that he "could not think straight enough to get myself out of there." He donated all of his savings directly to the surgeon that helped save his life, calling Dr. Jekyll "a hero to many." He once again moved back in with his parents in Gobonia and began to re-adjust himself to conventional living and seek regular employment. In 2013, he reverted to Frism, after abandoning his childhood religion at age 15, stating in a later interview that his religious views began to shape his current ideology.

In April 2016, after saving up money from various part-time jobs, he bought recording equipment and a website domain to launch his show, *Big Time Rush!*, the title being a nod to his surname. What initially started as an Internet show is now nationally syndicated, airing on a variety of AM and FM radio stations. In April 2019, it was estimated that *rush.tv* had over 200,000 monthly visitors.

## Political Views

Rush has repeatedly labelled himself a Solician nationalist and a Frist conservative. However, he has made comments and held positions well outside of the political mainstream, most notably consistently downplaying actions by the Atompoopen Division, a Solician ultra-nationalist terrorist group that has claimed responsibility for several murders and violent attacks. He has also denied the existence of widespread racism against Villagers, calling the notion "a fanciful and idiotic victimhood complex."

In January 2019, Rush aired a monologue in which he compared the Villicaust to a cookie-baking operation, which led to accusations of Villicaust denial. Rush later disputed that he had ever denied the Villicaust, calling his monologue a "lampoon". Rush has allegedly called for violence against left-wing protestors during civil unrest in 2018, saying "Communists cannot be allowed to assert themselves in modern society. You do not let an infection spread to the rest of the body, you have to cut off the foot before that happens. We need to cut off all communists, socialists, anarchists, whoever threatens our sovereignty and liberty."

Despite his apparent distaste for left-wing protests, he himself had performed activism during the aforementioned unrest including marches, roadblocks, and overall disruption of the public. He was arrested on the night of June 7th, 2019 for assault after a scuffle with a left-wing activist in the parking lot of a bar where a group of friends were celebrating National Day. He was released the next day with no charges being brought against him. He also performed various speeches throughout the city of New Free Derry during the unrest, repeatedly calling for the deposition of the current parliamentary government and the institution of a "authentically conservative, nationalist government to bring Solicia back to its glory", calling the current regime "liberal and weak".

Among those speeches, he also travelled to several other countries throughout the Realm including the Greater Teutonic Realm, Tibet, and Japan for political activism purposes. He gave a speech at the 2019 Agriculture Party Conference where he described a deep bond between the Teutonic and Solician peoples and the need for nationalist unity. He also met with Paul Miller of the National Socialist Japanese Workers' Party and shook hands with the Tibetan ambassador in 2020. He has expressed a deep admiration of ObamaLand Johnson and his dictatorial government in Tibet.

Nathan has expressed mixed feelings towards the Dexistanian government, initially praising the coup executed by Dex Moonfire as well as consistently praising the nationalist and expansionist policies of the government but being upset at the left-wing elements of the regime. He has particularly condemned the "attacks on private property and civil liberties Moonfire and his crony gang have engaged in."

He also feels he is under the constant threat of censorship by the MOI, citing the supposedly constant satellite repairs at his apartment building, leading to frequent outages and technical difficulties for his show. He suspects that the government has not overtly censored him yet due to his massive popularity in the country and the outcry that would stem from such a heavy handed move. The Dexistanian government has not issued any statements about him although it is generally understood that he is begrudgingly tolerated by the government.