New York Attorney General Letitia James is taking on the anti-immigration group VDARE, accusing the couple who ran it of using donor money to bankroll their own luxury lifestyle, including moving into a castle in West Virginia.
Peter and Lydia Brimelow, longtime immigration hardliners, allegedly spent more than $1 million in donations on themselves instead of the cause. According to James’s lawsuit, that money covered overseas trips, private club memberships, and the renovation and upkeep of their 9,300-square-foot castle in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Built in the 1880s, the sprawling stone home looks straight out of medieval Europe, complete with turrets and battlements, according to a Redfin listing.
The lawsuit is part of James’s broader push to rein in nonprofits she says misuse their charitable status. She’s already made headlines with cases against the Trump Organization and the NRA. In this case, she is seeking to force the Brimelows to repay the funds, pay additional penalties, and shut VDARE down entirely.
She also wants whatever remains of the group’s assets to be redirected to legitimate charities. James called VDARE nothing more than a “personal piggy bank” for the Brimelows.
According to her office, the couple never asked VDARE’s board for permission to live in the castle, which was purchased and maintained with the nonprofit’s money. James said charities are supposed “to serve the public good,” not enrich their founders.
VDARE takes its name from Virginia Dare, a figure embraced by white nationalists as a symbol of racial purity. Over the years, the Brimelows have been described as connecting mainstream Republicans with far-right extremists. That reputation has made the organization one of the most controversial voices in the immigration debate.
The lawsuit follows years of friction between the state and the group. A New York judge previously found VDARE in contempt of court for dragging its feet in cooperating with James’s investigation, imposing tens of thousands of dollars in penalties that James’s office says remain unpaid.
Peter Brimelow has publicly blamed James for the group’s downfall. In a video posted in July 2024, he announced that VDARE was shutting down for good. “VDARE has been murdered by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James,” he said. “She’s not charged us with anything — it’s important to know. She’s simply battered us to death with an enormous, ongoing, intrusive, quote-unquote investigation.”
James, however, insists her office is holding nonprofits to the same standard regardless of their politics. Her filing lays out a detailed picture of how the Brimelows allegedly redirected charitable dollars to cover personal expenses, from luxury perks to the massive stone castle they called home.
If James succeeds, the group will be dissolved, its assets redistributed, and the Brimelows personally held responsible for paying back the money. For now, though, the fate of both the couple and the organization sits with the courts.