| Founded | 2019 (as CVLT) 2021 (as 764) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Bradley "Felix" Cadenhead (764) |
| Named after | ZIP code for Stephenville |
| Founding location | Stephenville, Texas (CVLT allegedly founded in France) |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Territory | United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Romania, Brazil |
| Activities | Sextortion, cybercrime, child sexual exploitation, assault, kidnapping, murder |
764 (previously CVLT and a subgroup of "the com") [1] [2] [3] [4] is a decentralized and transnational sextortion network that is reportedly adjacent to the Order of Nine Angles, a right-wing Satanist terror network. [5] It is classified as a terror network by the U.S. Department of Justice, and is considered by the FBI as a "tier one" terrorist threat. [6] The RCMP also classifies 764 as an "ideological violent extremist network", and it has been characterized as a "satanic neo-nazi cult" by multiple sources. [7] [8] [9] [10]
764 was founded in 2021 by Bradley Cadenhead, a teenager from Stephenville, Texas; the group derives its name from the town's ZIP Code. [11] [1] [12] The network is most present on Discord and Telegram and usually targets children ages 8 to 17, particularly marginalized children or those suffering from mental health challenges. [13] [14] [15] Victims are often forced to commit recorded acts of self-harm to disseminate internally or share on social media platforms, [16] [5] asked to carve names on their skin as "cutsigns", a form of branding to show their subjugation to the group, [10] [17] [14] and given the end goal of committing suicide on livestream for the network's entertainment or for the perpetrator's own sense of fame within the network. [18] [19]
Due to the network's loose-knit nature, different sub-groups are known under different names; these sub-groups include CVLT, Court, Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, 7997, 8884, 2992, 555, Slit Town, 545, 6996, 404, NMK, 303, SR1, XVN, and H3ll. [20] [19] [21] [22] When aggregated, the community surrounding these groups is commonly referred to as "the com", shorthand for "the Community". [19] [14] Law enforcement estimated in 2024 that "the com" network includes hundreds of such members who engage in extortion and harassment using various cybercriminal tactics such as swatting or doxing, as well as thousands engaged in other cybercriminal activities. [1]
764 was founded by then-15-year-old Bradley Chance Cadenhead of Stephenville, Texas, who used the username "Felix" on Discord. [11] Cadenhead, who was bullied in school before dropping out in 2021, learned to groom and extort minors on a sextortion Discord server named CVLT. [11] [1] [23] CVLT, which was founded in 2019 by a French individual known as "Rohan", often blackmailed victims into recording child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and "degrading" acts for commercial gain. [24]
CVLT, and later Cadenhead's 764, sought ideological inspiration from the Order of Nine Angles (O9A), with The Guardian describing the group as an "offshoot" of O9A. [25] This involved the adoption of various esoteric ideas and tenets, including neo-Nazism, Western esotericism, Satanism, Wicca, and making apparent "blood covenants" to Satan. [25] [26] The network later entered a "partnership" with the neo-fascist Ukrainian "Maniac Murder Cult", which gained notoriety for attacks against homeless people. [27] [19] [16] The alleged leader of the "Maniac Murder Cult", 20-year-old Michail "Commander Butcher" Chkhikvishvili, was arrested in Moldova and extradited to New York where he faces federal hate crime charges for plotting to poison Jewish children. [28]
In September 2023, the FBI published a bulletin warning the public of the network. [29] The Canadian RCMP published two advisories about the network in July and August 2024. [10] [9]
In August 2024, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) pressed Discord regarding their "...failure to safeguard minors and stop the proliferation of violent predatory groups" in response to the FBI bulletin regarding 764. [30]
According to Der Spiegel, 764-related arrests have been made for child pornography, kidnapping and murder in at least eight countries, including two men in Germany. [14] The FBI estimates that thousands of children have fallen prey to 764 and similar groups. [14] The Australian Federal Police claimed that they were intensifying efforts to disrupt networks linked to 764. [31]
In February 2021, a 22-year-old member of CVLT, Kaleb Christopher Merritt of Spring, Texas, kidnapped and raped a 12-year-old girl in Virginia, United States. He was convicted and sentenced to 350 years in prison. [32] [24] [17] Cadenhead's splinter group also leveraged animal torture, incest, rape, self-harm, and bestiality from their victims. [5] [12] [16]
In November 2021, 22-year-old Angel Almeida of Queens, New York, United States, was arrested for his implication in the network and possession of a firearm while being a felon. [26] [25] Found inside Almeida's house was a bloodied piece of paper with a sketch of the Zodiac Killer alongside runic symbols and other memorabilia of the Order of Nine Angles. [26] Almeida's arrest tipped off law enforcement on the 764 network. [25]
In November 2021, an American man who was stranded in Kyrgyzstan died by self-immolation for an audience on Discord. He had been encouraged to broadcast his suicide by a 15-year-old Eastern European girl he met online who herself had links to 764. [33]
17-year-old member Nino Luciano H., known as "Tobbz", livestreamed himself attacking an 82-year-old man in March 2022, [1] and two weeks later he livestreamed his fatal stabbing of a 74-year-old woman, whom he believed to be Roma, on a 764-affiliated Discord server. [27] [34] [35] This was allegedly so he could "prove himself" as a member of the "Maniac Murder Cult". [27] He was sentenced to 14 years in prison in August 2023. [1]
In March 2023, 17-year-old founder Bradley Chance Cadenhead pled guilty to nine counts of possession of child pornography. [36] An Erath County judge sentenced Cadenhead to an 80-year state prison sentence, citing his self-described status as a "cult leader". [37] [11] After Cadenhead's arrest in August 2021, the group was led by a 21-year-old from Timișoara, Romania, named Francesco (nicknamed "Riley"). [1] He was sentenced to three years in prison in August 2023 for production of child pornography, with the Romanian DIICOT citing the fact that he "subscribed to antisocial values from the Maniac Murder Cult". [27] [1]
In October 2024, a 14-year-old boy known as "Slain", who was a member of 764 and ran an offshoot named "No Lives Matter", was arrested after livestreaming eight attacks and three stabbings in Hässelby, Sweden. [38] [39] [40]
In December 2023, an 18-year-old man from Honolulu, Hawaii, was arrested for running a 764 splinter group. [41] [42]
In January 2024, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested two teenage leaders of a suspected splinter group in Ananindeua, Pará, and Tabatinga, Amazonas. [43] [19] The operation led by the federal police, codenamed "Discórdia", carried out seven search warrants in five Brazilian states. [43] [44]
In January 2024, 47-year-old member Richard Anthony Reyna Densmore of Kaleva, Michigan, United States, was indicted on federal child pornography charges. [6] Densmore, who was known as "Rabid" and ran a splinter group named "Sew3r", was later sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty. [45] [18] Following Densmore's sentencing, Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said that the group sought to do "unspeakable harm to children to advance their goals of destroying civilized society, fomenting civil unrest, and ultimately collapsing government institutions", he also classified the network as a "transnational threat". [46] [12]
In February 2024, a 14-year-old from Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, who was linked to the network was arrested on charges of distributing child pornography, non-consensual distribution of intimate images, and possession of explosives. [47] [48]
In March 2024, Kyle William Spitze, a 24-year-old, of Friendsville, Tennessee, United States, who was known as "criminal" on the network, was indicted on federal child pornography charges. [24] [49] Spitze garnered notoriety in 2023 for a video of his stepfather shooting him in the ear during an altercation. [49] In December 2024, he pled guilty to four of the eight crimes he was charged for. [50] He faces 30 years in prison and lifetime supervised release. [51]
In March 2024, Cameron Finnigan, a 19-year-old from Horsham, UK, was arrested, and in January 2025 pleaded guilty to encouraging suicide, possessing a terrorism manual, and possessing indecent images of a child. Finnigan was subsequently sentenced to six years in jail. [52] [53] [54] At the time of sentencing, the BBC reported that at least four British teenagers have been arrested in connection with the activities of the group, which has blackmailed children into carrying out sexual acts, harming themselves or even attempting suicide. [52]
In October 2024, New South Wales Police announced the arrest of a 28-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy known in Western Australia in connection with the network. [55] [31]
In December 2024, a 20-year-old alleged 764 member from Tucson, Arizona, United States, was arrested. [56]
The Antioch school shooter, Solomon Henderson, made references to 764 and similar groups in social media posts before the attack. [57] [58]
Four CVLT members are facing maximum sentences of life in prison for the sexual abuse of at least 16 minors. They allegedly groomed and coerced the minors to produce CSAM and images of self-harm, the Department of Justice announced on January 30, 2025. [59]
On February 12, 2025, the Italian police in Bolzano arrested a teen and charged him with participating in a terrorist organization, manufacture and use of explosive devices, possession of illegal firearms, criminal damage possession, and dissemination of child pornography. He allegedly planned to make a snuff film. He was allegedly affiliated with 764 and the Order of Nine Angles. [60] [61]
764 member Jairo Jaime Tinajero plead guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to commit murder and production and distribution of child porn among several other crimes with terrorism enhancement. Tinajero conspired with another 764 member "Vitaly" to murder a 14 year old girl. The two men discussed shooting her and then dissolving her body in acid in detail. Tinajero had pressured the teenage girl to produce child porn, and when she eventually refused to continue, he began plotting to kill her. Tinajero and "Vitaly" also pressured a 12 year old girl to mutilate herself with the aim of making her kill herself. Tinajero, "Vitaly" and other 764 co-conspirators forced at least three girls in Kentucky to produce child porn. [62]
the com/764 extortion network.
One IMVE group targeting children is commonly known as the 764 network (or "the com")
A Texas man has been sentenced to 350 years in prison for sex crimes with a 12-year-old Bassett girl after pleading guilty as charged earlier this year. Kaleb Christopher Merritt, 22, of Spring, Texas, will serve an active sentence of 33 years and be on probation for the remainder of his life when he becomes eligible for release.
Once he formally pleads guilty, Spitze would face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and life on supervised release for two of the child pornography charges, seven years for the charge related to an "animal crushing video," and up to 20 years for a third child pornography charge. In exchange, Spitze would have some of his lesser charges dropped.