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Brandon Herrera

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Brandon Herrera
Brandon Herrera in 2022
Personal information
Born (1995-11-20) November 20, 1995 (age 29)
Fort Bragg, North Carolina, United States
YouTube information
Also known asTheAKGuy
Channels
Subscribers3.85 million (as of February 1, 2025)[1][2]
100,000 subscribers2019[3]
1,000,000 subscribers2021[4]

Brandon Joseph Herrera[5] (born November 20, 1995), also known as The AK Guy, is an American YouTuber whose videos primarily focus on firearms. Herrera was a candidate in the race to represent Texas's 23rd congressional district in 2024, but lost to incumbent Tony Gonzales in the Republican primary.

Early life

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Herrera was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to a family originating from Texas.[6] Both his parents are military veterans. Herrera attended Campbell University, where he studied pre-law, before dropping out to run his firearms manufacturing business.[7] He moved to San Antonio in early 2021.[4]

Career

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YouTube

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Started in 2015, Herrera's YouTube channel focuses on testing and reviewing firearms.[8] Subjects of his videos include tests of antique and military weapons, such as the AK-47 and RPG-7; discussions about gun laws and politics; and a series recreating the assassinations of public figures, including John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.[7]

Videos often feature guests who have served in the military; Herrera himself is not a military veteran.[9]

Politics

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 23
2024 GOP primary runoff results by county:
  Gonzales
  •   50–60% Gonzales
  •   60–70% Gonzales
  Herrera
  •   50–60% Herrera
  •   60–70% Herrera
  •   70–80% Herrera
  •   80–90% Herrera

Herrera, a Republican, ran for the U.S. House to represent Texas's 23rd congressional district in 2024, citing a frustration in incumbent Tony Gonzales' votes and gun policy.[10] In the primary, Herrera received 25 percent of the vote, while Gonzales received 45 percent; as no candidate received more than 50 percent, a runoff was held between the two, where Herrera lost by 400 votes.[9][10][11] Herrera called for a recount, saying, "I don’t expect the results to change, but I feel I owe it to my volunteers, voters, and supporters to leave no stone unturned."[12][13]

Millions had been spent on the race with AIPAC spending one million dollars running ads against Herrera, claiming he had "glorified Nazis and mocked the Holocaust" in his YouTube videos.[14][15] After the primary, U.S. Term Limits, a congressional term limits advocacy group, tapped Herrera to be their Texas chair.[16]

Herrera has described himself as libertarian-leaning, often emphasizing gun rights and limited government, but has generally aligned himself with far-right Republicans, such as Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan, and appealed to anti-establishment voters in the primaries.[17][7]

Criticism

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Herrera's content often contains dark humor. He co-hosts a podcast with several veterans [18] that includes "offensive commentary or repeats racist stereotypes", such as an episode where he joked he was essentially a military veteran because he "often [thought] about putting a gun in [his] mouth".[17] Gonzales, who had served in the United States Navy, criticized Herrera, saying that there was a "special place in hell for scum and villainy who mock veteran suicide".[8]

His YouTube videos have incorporated Nazi imagery and jokes about Nazis and the Holocaust.[19] In one 2022 video, he sarcastically referred to the MP 40, a submachine gun developed by Nazi Germany, as the "original ghetto blaster", and goose stepped to "Erika", a German marching song used by the modern-day far right.[19] Another video featured the flag of Rhodesia, a symbol co-opted by white nationalists.[20] Herrera responded to criticism, saying, "This should be obvious, but I am not, nor have I never been a neo-Nazi."[9]

Since at least 2013, Herrera has also been a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a neo-Confederate organization that promotes the Lost Cause and has ties to white supremacist groups.[19] He appeared in welcome videos produced by the organization, where he referred to the American Civil War varyingly as the "War of Northern Aggression" and the "War for Southern Independence", and advertised the group's "annual Yankee shoot", where members used antique rifles to shoot at "posters of [their] favorite Yankees".[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Brandon Herrera's Youtube Stats". Social Blade. Retrieved February 2, 2025.
  2. ^ "About Brandon Herrera". YouTube.
  3. ^ Brandon Herrera (18 July 2019). I FINALLY HAVE IT!. Brandon Herrera. Retrieved February 1, 2025 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ a b Brandon Herrera (31 December 2021). 2021 Was A Year... Brandon Herrera. Retrieved February 1, 2025 – via YouTube.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ Brandon Herrera (2024-11-13). I COULD BE THE NEXT ATF DIRECTOR?. Retrieved 2024-12-21 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Meet Brandon". Brandon Herrera for Congress. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  7. ^ a b c Harris, Cayla (March 27, 2024). "San Antonio's 'AK Guy' is famous online. Can that take him to Congress over U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales?". San Antonio Express-News. Archived from the original on 2024-09-15. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  8. ^ a b Choi, Matthew; Downey, Renzo (March 25, 2024). "Gun rights YouTuber Brandon Herrera gains momentum in race against U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  9. ^ a b c Svitek, Patrick (May 2, 2024). "Texas runoff between Rep. Tony Gonzales and pro-gun YouTuber is key GOP test". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  10. ^ a b Spriester, Steve; Barraza, Adam (23 May 2024). "Tony Gonzales declares victory with 400 votes more than Brandon Herrera in GOP runoff for US Representative District 23". KSAT.
  11. ^ Choi, Matthew (2024-05-29). "U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales prevails in primary runoff over gun influencer Brandon Herrera". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2024-12-20.
  12. ^ Downey, Renzo (2024-06-06). "Brandon Herrera to request recount in primary runoff against U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  13. ^ Harris, Cayla (2024-06-07). "'AK Guy' wants a recount in loss to U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2025-02-01.
  14. ^ Rod, Marc (May 15, 2024). "AIPAC launches ad blitz against Brandon Herrera, challenger to Rep. Tony Gonzales". Jewish Insider.
  15. ^ Choi, Matthew (April 16, 2024). "U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales vastly outraises challenger Brandon Herrera ahead of heated congressional runoff". The Texas Tribune.
  16. ^ Velasco, Donna (July 25, 2024). "Brandon Herrera Tapped As Texas State Chair For U.S. Term Limits".
  17. ^ a b Harris, Cayla (March 27, 2024). "Who is Brandon Herrera? What to know about the 'AK Guy' and YouTube star running for Congress". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2024-06-04. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
  18. ^ "UnsubscribePodcast". YouTube. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
  19. ^ a b c d Rod, Marc (April 1, 2024). "Rep. Gonzales' right-wing GOP challenger posted videos featuring Nazi imagery, songs, jokes". Jewish Insider. Archived from the original on April 1, 2024. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
  20. ^ Jacobs, Ben (May 9, 2024). "Uvalde's Next Congressman Might Be a Gunfluencer". New York. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
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