Right-wing activist who had run-in at Fresno councilmember’s home killed in Tesla crash

The driver this week who was killed along with a passenger when a Tesla overturned had become known in the Fresno area for being a right-wing advocate who had a run-in with a City Council member.

Jason Phillips, who also was in Washington D.C. on the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, was the 24-year-old driver suspected of being intoxicated about 1:45 a.m. Monday when the Tesla Model 3 collided with more than one guardrail, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.

Phillips had a spot in the public eye going back to at least April 2016, when Fresno Bee archives revealed a photo of him with then-Mayor Ashley Swearengin because he was a member of the Fresno Youth Commission. He would have been about 16.

Phillips made news in May 2020 when, along with other right-wing protesters Josh Fulfer and James Hoak, confronted Fresno City Councilmember Miguel Arias at his home over business closures early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Arias was cited and accused of battery during the incident, but charges were later dropped.

Along with appearing in photos at the nation’s Capitol on the day of the Jan. 6 insurrection, Phillips also defended Hoak, a Sierra Unified School District board trustee who refused to resign after some constituents called on him to do so for his presence at the Capitol.

Reached by text message Wednesday, Hoak declined to speak with The Fresno Bee about Phillips.

Phillips also appeared — often wearing a red hat — in videos with Fulfer as part of Oreo Express, a self-described “independent media” source that focused on alt-right causes. Fulfer did not respond to a request to talk about Phillips sent Wednesday by email to the Oreo Express website.

That included some of the weekly demonstrations outside the Tower Theatre that went on for months in 2021 while Adventure Church attempted to buy it.

A profile on X, formerly called Twitter, connected to Oreo Express mourned Phillips on Tuesday.

“We never know when our time will come to go home,” the post said. “You touched a lot of people hearts, made lasting impressions on people’s souls and will be forever missed. Praying for your family in this tragic time.”

The fatal crash that killed Jason Phillips

Phillips was believed by officers to have been the driver in the crash that killed him and front-seat passenger Chase McCutcheon, 32, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Both men were not wearing seatbelts and were ejected, CHP said. Officer Mike Salas said Wednesday that evidence at the scene showed Phillips was driving, adding the investigation was ongoing and the findings were not final.

Salas said investigators believed the men were at “local drinking establishments” observing St. Patrick’s Day on the night of the crash. A 37-year-old passenger in the back seat survived the crash with moderate injuries, CHP said.

All three were in a Tesla Model 3 about 1:45 a.m. Monday when the vehicle struck a curb, guardrail and sign before flipping on Copper Avenue while going west and approaching a shift in the road near Willow Avenue, CHP said.

The car was moving at “a high rate of speed” and continued into another curb and guardrail, CHP said. Phillips and McCutcheon were pronounced dead at the scene.