Active Club Network

Last updated

Active Club Network
Founder Robert Rundo
Foundation2021
CountryUnited States, Europe, Canada, Australia
HeadquartersCalifornia [1]
Ontario [2]
Ideology
Allies

The Active Club Network are decentralized cells of white supremacy and neo-Nazi groups active in many U.S. states, with multiple chapters in other nations. Largely inspired by the defunct street-fighting Rise Above Movement formed by Robert Rundo in 2017 and hooliganism, the network was created in January 2021 and promotes mixed martial arts to fight against what it asserts is a system that is targeting the white race, as well as a "warrior spirit" to prepare for a forthcoming race war. Some extremism researchers have characterized the network as a "shadow or stand-by army" which is awaiting activation as the need for it arises. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Contents

Origins

The origin of the network has been traced to Robert Rundo, who formed the Rise Above Movement in Southern California in 2017. Facing federal rioting charges in the United States, Rundo left for southeastern Europe to promote the movement. He has described his goal as creating "White Nationalism 3.0" and envisioned a decentralized cell network that would be difficult for researchers and law enforcement to track. [7] He created an online messaging and merchandising organization to encourage communications with other white supremacist groups, such as Patriot Front. [13] [14] [15]

Rundo was extradited from Romania to face charges in the United States in August 2023. His supporters have held "Free Rundo" demonstrations in several countries, including Russia, Sweden, and Canada. [16] [17]

Description

The network adheres to the Great Replacement and white genocide conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories which are based on the belief that elites, Jews and the mainstream media are jointly engaging in a global conspiracy to replace the white population of the world with non-white immigrants. [18]

According to Vice and The Guardian, members of the terrorist group Atomwaffen Division are active "and play key roles" in organizing the Active Club Network. [19] [20] Leading member of Atomwaffen's Canadian branch and Order of Nine Angles, Patrick Gordon Macdonald, who has been charged with terrorism offenses, was allegedly also a member of Canadian Active Club. [21] [22] Kristoffer Nippak, another founding member of the Northern Order who also has been charged with terrorism offenses, is also a member of the Active Club. [23] According to the director of the University of New Brunswick’s Criminology and Criminal Justice Program, David Hofmann, Atomwaffen is using Active Clubs as a cover for organizing where they have been outlawed as a terrorist group. [8] Further, Active Club Finland trains Karelian separatists that the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev characterized as a terrorist group. [5] [24] New Jersey man Andrew Takhistov who took part in Active Club "Free Rundo" demonstration is charged with plotting an attack on energy infrastructure and synagogues. Takhistov also stated that he was involved in the production of Terrorgram propaganda and planned to join the Russian Volunteer Corps. [25]

The Guardian reported in August 2023 that some in the Clockwork Crew, a cell of about one dozen members in Long Beach, California, were serving or had served in the United States military. One cell member was expelled from the Marines after he and five others were caught "stealing more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition and several grenades from a weapons depot at Camp Pendleton" in 2021. A Clockwork Crew co-founder was court-martialed, sentenced to eleven months in the brig and given a bad conduct discharge for violating the Marine Corps's ban on the advocacy of extremist ideologies. [19]

In September 2023, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) characterized the network as a transnational movement which seeks to create a "shadow or stand-by army" that can mobilize itself for the purpose of launching "coordinated, large-scale" violent attacks. A CEP study revealed that the network adhered to a strategy of "hiding in plain sight" by showing a "friendly face" to recruit young white men for fitness, sports and martial arts. [26] [27]

Expansion

Alexander Ritzmann, the author of the 2023 CEP study, stated "I've never seen a network in right-wing extremism grow so fast. Usually it takes years to build a transnational network." [27]

As of August 2023, the Anti-Defamation League found that Active Clubs have claimed to be present in at least 33 U.S. states. Active Clubs have also been formed in Lithuania, France, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, and Croatia. [28] [29]

In May 2023, Active Club Scotland (ACS) posted its first video. Members of the group have made bomb threats and marched with National Action, a banned neo-Nazi terrorist organisation, and some members have links to Patriotic Alternative. There are also other groups in the UK drawing on elements of the international Active Club movement. ACS often sends messages using the white supremacist slogan 14 Words on its Telegram channel. [30]

In Finland, local groups operate at least in the Uusimaa and Päijät-Häme regions and Oulu, Turku, Tampere, and Kokkola as of May 2024. [31] [32]

In August 2024, it was reported that Australia had an Active Club Network. Known neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell leads a group in South Australia known as Croweater. [a] Sewell was suspended from X in July 2024, but the Croweater page remains, featuring a photo of masked members carrying a banner reading "Australia for the white man". However the clubs are not well-established in Australia. [34]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Croweater is a popular Australian demonym for South Australian people. [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Mason (neo-Nazi)</span> American Nazi

James Nolan Mason is an American neo-Nazi. Mason is an ideologue for the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi terrorist organization. After growing disillusioned with the mass movement approach of neo-Nazi movements, he began advocating for a white supremacist revolution through terrorism. He was referred to as the "Godfather of Fascist Terrorism" in the Fair Observer. He has been convicted of assault and weapons charges, as well as charged with sexual exploitation and possession of pornographic images of a minor. In 2021, Mason was one of only two individuals sanctioned by the Canadian Government on its list of terror-related entities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right-wing terrorism</span> Form of Terrorism

Right-wing terrorism, hard right terrorism, extreme right terrorism or far-right terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies. It can be motivated by Ultranationalism, neo-Nazism, anti-communism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, ethnonationalism, religious nationalism, anti-immigration, anti-semitism, anti-government sentiment, patriot movements, sovereign citizen beliefs, and occasionally, it can be motivated by opposition to abortion, and homophobia. Modern right-wing terrorism largely emerged in Western Europe in the 1970s, and after the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, it emerged in Eastern Europe and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nordic Resistance Movement</span> Pan-Nordic neo-Nazi movement

The Nordic Resistance Movement is a pan-Nordic neo-Nazi movement in the Nordic countries and a political party in Sweden. Besides Sweden, it is established in Norway, Denmark and Iceland, and formerly in Finland before it was banned in 2019. Terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp has described the NRM as a terrorist organization due to their aim of abolishing democracy along with their paramilitary activities and weapons caches. In 2022, some members of the United States Congress began calling for the organization to be added to the United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. On 14 June 2024, the United States Department of State designated NRM and its leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).

Accelerationism is a range of revolutionary and reactionary ideas in left-wing and right-wing ideologies that call for the drastic intensification of capitalist growth, technological change, infrastructure sabotage and other processes of social change to destabilize existing systems and create radical social transformations, otherwise referred to as "acceleration". It has been regarded as an ideological spectrum divided into mutually contradictory left-wing and right-wing variants, both of which support the indefinite intensification of capitalism and its structures as well as the conditions for a technological singularity, a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible.

<i>Siege</i> (Mason book) Book collecting the articles of American neo-Nazi James Mason

Siege is an anthology of essays first published as a single volume in 1992, written in 1980s by James Mason, a neo-Nazi and associate of the cult leader Charles Manson. After growing disillusioned with the mass movement approach of neo-Nazi movements, he began advocating for white revolution through terrorism. Referred to as the "Godfather of Fascist Terrorism", Mason has been proscribed as a "terrorist entity" in Canada.” Mason originally wrote the essays for the eponymous newsletter of the National Socialist Liberation Front, a militant splinter of the American Nazi Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atomwaffen Division</span> International neo-Nazi terrorist network

The Atomwaffen Division, also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, was an international far-right extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the Southern United States, it expanded across the United States and it had also expanded into the United Kingdom, Argentina, Canada, Germany, the Baltic states, and other European countries. The group was described as a part of the alt-right by some journalists, but it rejected the label and it was considered extreme even within that movement. Atomwaffen was described as "one of the most violent neo-Nazi movements in the 21st century". It was listed as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), and it was also designated as a terrorist group by multiple governments, including the United Kingdom and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipodean Resistance</span> Australian neo-Nazi hate group

Antipodean Resistance (AR) is an Australian neo-Nazi hate group. The group, formed in October 2016, uses the slogan "We're the Hitlers you've been waiting for" and makes use of Nazi symbols such as the swastika and the Nazi salute. AR's logo features the Black Sun and Totenkopf with an Akubra hat, a laurel wreath and a swastika.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Base (hate group)</span> American, neo-Nazi, paramilitary training organization

The Base is a white supremacist and neo-Nazi accelerationist paramilitary group and training network, formed in 2018 by Rinaldo Nazzaro. It is active in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Europe, and designated as a terrorist organization in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the European Union.

The Russian Imperial Movement is a Russian ultranationalist and white supremacist militant organization which operates out of Russia. The group seeks to create a new Russian Empire. Its paramilitary wing is the Russian Imperial Legion. During the Donbas War, it recruited and trained thousands of far-right volunteers who joined the Russian separatist forces in Ukraine. It has also given training to other far-right groups in Europe and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron March</span> Neo-fascist and Neo-Nazi web forum

Iron March was a far-right neo-fascist and Neo-Nazi web forum open from 2011 to 2017. The site attracted neo-fascist and Neo-Nazi members, including militants from organized far-right groups and members who would later go on to commit acts of terror. After the site closed, former users moved to alternative websites and social networking services, such as Discord. In 2019, an anonymous individual leaked the database that hosted all Iron March content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriotic Alternative</span> British far-right hate group

Patriotic Alternative (PA) is a British far-right, fascist, neo-Nazi and white nationalist hate group which states that it has active branches nationwide. The Times described it in 2023 as "Britain's largest far-right white supremacist movement". Its stance has been variously described as Islamophobic, fascist and racist.

Far-right terrorism in Australia refers to far-right-ideologically influenced terrorism on Australian soil. Far-right extremist groups have existed in Australia since the early 20th century, however the intensity of terrorist activities have oscillated until the present time. A surge of neo-Nazism based terrorism occurred in Australia during the 1960s and the 1970s, carried out primarily by members of the Ustaše organisation. However in the 21st century, a rise in jihadism, the White genocide conspiracy theory, and after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have fuelled far-right terrorism in Australia. Both the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) are responsible for responding to far-right terrorist threats in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action Zealandia</span> New Zealand white nationalist group

Action Zealandia is a white nationalist group in New Zealand that emerged following the Christchurch mosque shootings in 2019 as the successor to an earlier group called the Dominion Movement. According to Newshub, Action Zealandia has restricted its membership to "physically fit, tidy European male[s] of sound mind and good character." In addition to its online activities, the group has plastered stickers, posted banners, and networked with other far-right and neo-Nazi groups in New Zealand and abroad. Action Zealandia has also attracted media attention after members made an online threat against Christchurch's Al Noor Mosque, attempted to start a terror cell, purchase weapons, and participated in the 2022 Wellington protest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rusich Group</span> Russian paramilitary unit

The Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group(DShRG) "Rusich" is a Russian far-right and neo-Nazi paramilitary unit that has been fighting against Ukrainian forces in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Its co-founder and leader is Alexey Milchakov and operates within the Wagner Group. "Rusich" fought on the side of pro-Russian military in the Donbas war from June 2014 to July 2015, and in the Russian invasion of Ukraine alongside Russian troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terrorgram</span> Network of neo-fascist Telegram channels

Terrorgram refers to a decentralized network of Telegram channels and accounts that subscribe to or promote militant accelerationism. Terrorgram channels are neo-fascist in ideology, and regularly share instructions and manuals on how to carry out acts of racially-motivated violence and anti-government terrorism. Terrorgram is a key communications forum for individuals and networks attached to Atomwaffen Division, The Base, and other explicit militant accelerationist groups.

Patrick Gordon Macdonald is a Canadian Neo-Nazi graphic designer, who uses the pseudonym Dark Foreigner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White jihad</span> Adoption by white supremacists of jihadist methods, narratives and aesthetics

White jihad is a political neologism for white supremacists' adoption of jihadist methods, narratives and aesthetic.

According to a report by the civil rights group the Southern Poverty Law Center the Order of Nine Angles "holds an important position in the niche, international nexus of occult, esoteric, and/or satanic neo-Nazi groups." Several newspapers have reported that the O9A is linked to a number of high-profile figures from the far right and that the group is affiliated and shares members with neo-Nazi terrorist groups such as Atomwaffen Division and proscribed National Action, Sonnenkrieg Division, Combat 18 and Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM). Also the leader of the eco-extremist terrorist Individualists Tending to the Wild claimed to have been influenced by the O9A.

References

  1. ↑ "This 'Violence-Ready' Militia Is Hiding in Plain Sight". Rolling Stone . October 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Underground neo-Nazi street gang quietly running whites-only workout clubs from coast to coast". Canadian Anti-Hate Network. October 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: The Patriot Front". Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. December 9, 2023. Given the Active Club network's overt accelerationism and likely desire to engage in violence, it is concerning that PF has aligned itself and trained alongside these Active Clubs.
  4. ↑ "The Right Fit: How Active Club Propaganda Attracts Women to the Far-Right". Global Network on Extremism and Technology. December 9, 2023. Individual far-right Active Clubs exist as part of a decentralised network of groups that conduct mental and physical combat training while promoting white supremacist, neofascist, and accelerationist ideologies.
  5. 1 2 Jääskeläinen, Petri (December 2, 2023). "Toimivatko Active Club -kamppailukerhot porttina äärioikeistojärjestöihin? – Osa jäsenistä saattaa valmistautua itsenäisyyspäivänä väkivaltaisuuksiin". Seura (in Finnish). Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  6. ↑ "RUSSIAN MILITIA HAS LINKS TO AMERICAN NEO-NAZI AND ANTI-TRANS FIGURES". The Intercept . October 8, 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Active Club Network". Anti-Defamation League.
  8. 1 2 "2 Ontario men accused of belonging to neo-Nazi terrorism group". Global News . "Their way around getting on this terror watch list is, 'oh, we're no longer Atomwaffen, we're Active Club Canada. Meanwhile, they continue doing what they're doing and hoping that, you know, they can get out of this legal loophole with this rebranding," Hofmann said.
  9. ↑ Yousef, Odette (July 19, 2023). "'Active club' hate groups are growing in the U.S. — and making themselves seen". National Public Radio.
  10. ↑ "Active Club Network". Anti-Defamation League.
  11. ↑ Morgan Moon; Jon Lewis (September 1, 2023). "Amid Robert Rundo's Extradition, the White Supremacist Active Clubs Network Remains a Threat". Just Security.
  12. ↑ "Hiding in Plain Sight – The Transnational Right-Wing Extremist Active Club Network". Counter Extremism Project. September 22, 2023.
  13. ↑ Yousef, Odette (July 19, 2023). "'Active club' hate groups are growing in the U.S. — and making themselves seen". National Public Radio.
  14. ↑ Morgan Moon; Jon Lewis (September 1, 2023). "Amid Robert Rundo's Extradition, the White Supremacist Active Clubs Network Remains a Threat". Just Security.
  15. ↑ "Hiding in Plain Sight – The Transnational Right-Wing Extremist Active Club Network". Counter Extremism Project. September 22, 2023.
  16. ↑ Morgan Moon; Jon Lewis (September 1, 2023). "Amid Robert Rundo's Extradition, the White Supremacist Active Clubs Network Remains a Threat". Just Security.
  17. ↑ Winston, Ali (August 2, 2023). "White supremacist Robert Rundo extradited from Romania to US to face charges". The Guardian.
  18. ↑ "Dangerous Organizations and Bad Actors: The Active Club Network". Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism. March 15, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Winston, Ali (August 14, 2023). "Revealed: neo-Nazi active club counts several of US military as members". The Guardian. Liel has claimed he was once affiliated with the Atomwaffen Division
  20. ↑ Mack Lamoureux (October 8, 2023). "Neo-Nazi Fight Clubs Are Fat-Shaming Men Into White Nationalism". Vice News . Other sources told VICE News that former members of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, which has been designated as a terrorist organization in Canada, are playing key roles in organizing active clubs north of the border.
  21. ↑ "'A New Image of Terror and Dread': The Significance Of Dark Foreigner's Arrest". Global network on extremism and technology. August 12, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Canadian Police Just Arrested Influential Neo-Nazi 'Dark Foreigner'". Vice News . October 8, 2023. Sources indicated to VICE News that he remained active with the extreme right after he was identified. Earlier this year, the Canadian Anti-Hate Network published an article alleging that he was a member of a Canadian Active Club, a neo-Nazi fitness group.
  23. ↑ "Meet the 'Entrepreneur of Hate' Behind the Rise Of Canadian Neo-Nazi Fight Clubs". Vice News . December 1, 2023.
  24. ↑ Kauppinen, Ina (August 2, 2023). "Putinin "oikea käsi" esitti vakavan syytöksen Suomea kohtaan – "Tietoinen hyökkäävä kurssi maatamme kohtaan on jälleen otettu"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  25. ↑ "'Terrorgram' Charges Show US Has Had Tools to Crack Down on Far-Right Terrorism All Along". Wired. September 14, 2024.
  26. ↑ Alexander Ritzmann (September 22, 2023). "Hiding in Plain Sight – The Transnational Right-Wing Extremist Active Club Network". Counter Extremism Project.
  27. 1 2 Woodward, Alex (September 26, 2023). "How white supremacist fight clubs are building covert far-right militias". The Independent .
  28. ↑ Morgan Moon; Jon Lewis (September 1, 2023). "Amid Robert Rundo's Extradition, the White Supremacist Active Clubs Network Remains a Threat". Just Security.
  29. ↑ Mack Lamoureux (October 8, 2023). "Neo-Nazi Fight Clubs Are Growing Rapidly, New Research Shows". Vice News .
  30. ↑ "STATE OF HATE 2024 Investigation: Fascist Fight Clubs". HOPE not hate. March 21, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  31. ↑ Kerkelä, Lasse; Nieminen, Teemu (December 2, 2023). "Somejulkaisut paljastavat: Näin uusi äärioikeistolainen ryhmä levittäytyy Suomeen". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Extremist Content Online: White Supremacists Celebrate Anniversary Of Buffalo Terror Attack on Social Media". Counter Extremism Project . May 22, 2024.
  33. ↑ Richards, Kel. "Wordwatch: Croweater". ABC NewsRadio. Archived from the original on September 15, 2005. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  34. ↑ Jeuniewic, Lexie (August 3, 2024). "Active Clubs and white supremacy groups targeting young men a 'threat to social cohesion' in Australia". ABC News . Retrieved August 3, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.