Here is an interesting
article about him, as well as, talk about Free Vermont & Texit. The guy does not sound like a Democrat, and the article calls him a former right-wing activist from Buffalo, New York because he returned to the United States to campaign against LGBTQ rights as part of the National Organization for Marriage. To me he just sounds like he is a supporter of Russia.
Note, he started this movement before Trump was elected, but since that event it has gained steam primarily because several influential tech figures took to Twitter to voice their desire for California to leave the union after Trump’s election. Among them was Shervin Pishevar, an investor and co-founder of Hyperloop One.