Far-right influencer Nick Fuentes has written an apology letter to the woman he was accused of pepper-spraying more than a year ago as she attempted to ring the doorbell of his west suburban home.
Fuentes appeared virtually on Zoom at a court hearing, held at the Maywood Courthouse Friday, where Cook County Judge Celestia Mays allowed Marla Rose to read the apology letter to herself but not out loud. She also couldn’t keep a copy.
Rose told the Tribune later that it was about three or four short paragraphs and, to her, seemed not heartfelt and “pretty boilerplate.” The apology said something to the effect of “I apologize for overreacting to your uninvited visit,” she said.
“I’m not expecting a marching band or confetti to fall out of the sky or anything like that,” Rose said. “But an apology is something that’s not withdrawn from you … The fact that they put it out and clawed it back, I don’t believe that they’re interested in truly showing remorse.”
Fuentes’ attorney, Robert Rascia, declined to go into the specifics of the apology letter after the hearing. He said, however, that it’s a “simple misdemeanor battery case that this woman has blown totally out of proportion because Mr. Fuentes is a person of some notoriety.”
“I don’t think he did anything other people would not have done when you repeatedly attack someone at their home,” he said. While it was Rose’s only visit to the home, Fuentes had been doxxed and reportedly harassed by others.
In response, Rose said Fuentes has been “coddled” by the criminal justice system. She said Fuentes was the one who did something illegal and “all I’m seeking is justice.”
Fuentes had agreed to a deferred prosecution deal for the battery misdemeanor charge, which means he’ll have no criminal conviction if he follows the conditions. He’s required to apologize to Rose, pay about $635 in restitution, take an anger management course and complete 75 hours of community service.
Rose was given a money order for the restitution Friday. Rascia said at the hearing that Fuentes is working on completing the community service.
Friday’s hearing follows more than a year of back-and-forth in the courts. Rose approached Fuentes’ Berwyn home in November 2024 days after his address leaked widely online. Fuentes, an incendiary online creator known for his racist and antisemitic comments, posted “Your body, My choice. Forever” on X following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Rose, a self-described progressive, told the Tribune she wanted to see if the rumors of prank deliveries at Fuentes’ home were true. She alleged he opened the door before she could ring the bell, pepper-sprayed her and screamed an expletive. He then grabbed her phone and took it into the house, she said.
Fuentes was charged with battery in December. He and Rose were ordered not to have contact with each other.
Just a couple of weeks later, Berwyn cops shot and killed a man near Fuentes’ home who was wanted for triple homicide in central Illinois. John Lyons, 24, of Westchester, drove nearly 150 miles to Fuentes’ house, carrying what appeared to be a pistol and crossbow, after authorities believe he killed his college roommate and the roommate’s mom and sister.
Why Lyons drove to Berwyn after the time of the shooting, or why he allegedly went to Fuentes’ residence, wasn’t detailed in police records.
“I will now have to uproot my life and relocate,” Fuentes said at the time. “While I can handle whatever comes to my front door, it is irresponsible to expect my neighbors with young families to share that burden.”
