The Pinesap Affair: Catholic Fascism, Public Outcry, and the Illusion of Persecution
When self-inflicted scandal masquerades as martyrdom in the digital age
The online personality known as “Pinesap,” now identified as Connor Estelle, has become the centre of a swirling controversy following his appearance in Jubilee’s Surrounded series, in which twenty self-identified “Far-Right Conservatives” engaged in a televised debate with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan. Estelle, a young American convert to Catholicism, described himself on the programme as a fascist and voiced preference for an “autocratic Catholic state” over liberal democracy. Following public backlash and scrutiny of his online activity, he was dismissed from his job as a cloud engineer at VeUP, prompting him to launch a fundraising appeal for financial support under the banner “Fired for My Political Beliefs.”
The episode, which aired on 21 July and quickly gained over four million views, captured national attention. During the conversation, Estelle referenced Carl Schmitt, the Nazi-affiliated jurist whose political theology advocates for a sovereign unbound by legal norms during states of exception. When pressed by Hasan on whether he aligned himself with Nazism, Estelle did not categorically deny it. Instead, he doubled down on his self-professed fascism, earning scattered applause from some attendees in the studio.
He further defended Spanish dictator Francisco Franco as a leader who “fought for the Church,” denying Franco’s association with civilian atrocities, despite overwhelming historical evidence of violent repression during and after the Spanish Civil War¹. Estelle’s stance appeared not to reflect traditional Catholic political theology, which since Pope Leo XIII has explicitly distinguished between legitimate authority and totalitarian nationalism².
Online Radicalism and Ideological Confusion
Investigations into Estelle’s online presence revealed additional troubling material. An Instagram account under the name “pinesap3” contained devotional Catholic content — including tributes to St. Josemaría Escrivá and condemnations of the SSPX — alongside posts expressing incel ideology, a misogynistic subculture characterised by bitterness, sexual entitlement, and social alienation³.
More disturbingly, his X (formerly Twitter) account, operating under the alias “FeelsGuy2003,” included racist messages — including some aimed at Hasan — and one particularly grotesque remark: “I want America to be a nightmare version of The Handmaid’s Tale.”⁴ Far from representing a coherent Catholic political vision, the combination of fascist nostalgia, internet radicalism, and reactionary despair points to a modern nihilism masquerading as tradition.
Estelle’s dismissal prompted a public appeal for funds via the Christian crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo. Framed as a defence of free speech, the appeal surpassed its original $15,000 target, collecting over $21,000 within days. While many donors offered generic support, some left messages laced with ethnic supremacist slogans, including veiled neo-Nazi code (“88”), underscoring the broader ideological ecosystem now rallying around Estelle⁵.
The Martyrdom Complex of the Radical Right
In his public statement, Estelle claimed that “voicing fully legal traditional right-wing political views results in real consequences.” This framing — that of the misunderstood dissident punished by a liberal regime — has become a familiar trope among the new right, especially among young men radicalised online. Yet it misrepresents the issue entirely. Estelle was not terminated for “being Catholic,” but for publicly identifying with fascism, praising a known Nazi collaborator, and posting material that can reasonably be construed as hateful and threatening.
Critics have rightly noted that this is not a case of mere political heterodoxy, but of public advocacy for a system that Catholic teaching has historically condemned. As Quadragesimo Anno (1931) makes clear, “a ruler who acts contrary to the law of God and the good of the people ceases to be legitimate”⁶. Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge (1937), written against the errors of Nazism, likewise denounced racial ideology, deification of the state, and attacks on the Church⁷. For a young man to wrap fascist authoritarianism in Catholic symbolism is not courageous — it is doctrinally incoherent and morally corrupt.
The Limits of Platforming
Jubilee, for its part, has faced mounting criticism for lending airtime to such figures under the guise of “free speech” and ideological variety. While open dialogue is an essential part of democratic discourse, platforming openly fascist individuals can distort the very terms of that discourse. Several commentators have questioned the vetting process and editorial framing, particularly given the growing trend of monetised extremism in online media.
Meanwhile, Mehdi Hasan — whose questioning of Estelle was direct but civil — has himself drawn criticism for past inflammatory rhetoric. In a 2009 speech, Hasan referred to non-Muslims as “cattle,” language he has since retracted⁸. Once an outspoken critic of abortion, writing in 2012 that the left had “fetishised choice,” Hasan reversed his position in 2019, calling his prior stance “offensive and illiberal”⁹. These inconsistencies have led some to accuse Hasan of political opportunism, but they pale in comparison to the far more dangerous ideological stew surrounding Estelle and his supporters.
Conclusion: The Perversion of Catholic Politics
The Estelle affair is a cautionary tale. It reveals how Catholic aesthetics and terminology can be co-opted by those with little understanding of the Church’s moral and political tradition. It also underscores the dangers of substituting genuine formation and sacramental life with online radicalisation and ideological performance.
What Estelle champions is not Catholicism but a caricature of it: stripped of its sacramental grace, its universal charity, and its deep commitment to the dignity of the human person. Catholic political thought begins with the kingship of Christ and ends with the common good — not racial supremacy, authoritarianism, or despair.
If the Church wishes to reach young men like Estelle, it must do so with truth, formation, and fatherhood — not slogans, echo chambers, or ideological cosplay. 🔝
¹ Paul Preston, The Spanish Holocaust (Harper Press, 2012).
² Leo XIII, Diuturnum Illud (1881); see also Immortale Dei (1885).
³ The incel subculture has been studied extensively in modern sociology. See Debbie Ging, “Alphas, Betas, and Incels,” Men and Masculinities (2019).
⁴ Screenshot archives from “FeelsGuy2003” profile, publicly available via Reddit threads (July 2025).
⁵ The Daily Beast, “Self-Described Fascist Begs for Donations After Getting Fired,” 23 July 2025.
⁶ Pius XI, Quadragesimo Anno, § 74.
⁷ Pius XI, Mit Brennender Sorge, § 9–20.
⁸ Mehdi Hasan, “The Cattle Speech,” Islam Channel (2009); retraction in The Intercept, 2020.
⁹ Mehdi Hasan, “On Abortion: I Was Wrong,” Twitter/X, 25 May 2019.
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