(New York, N.Y.) – The Counter Extremism
Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by extremists to
exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit followers
and incite violence. This week, the neo-Nazi environmental group,
Green Brigade, claimed on Telegram that they were disbanding due to
the disappearance of key members. Additionally, ISIS supporters on the
RocketChat platform celebrated COVID-19 for killing Americans,
Europeans and Iranians. CEP also located a profile for the German
Atomwaffen Division on the Gab social media platform. Also, the
cofounder of the neo-Nazi Rise Above Movement, Robert Rundo, posted a
video to YouTube defending the violent white supremacist group. In
addition, CEP located a copy of the Christchurch terror attack video
that has been viewed more than 40,000 times on Telegram. Finally, the
leader of the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM), Simon
Lindberg, recently posted a blog on the NRM website aiming to recruit
members amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and economic
hardships.
Neo-Nazi Green Brigade Claims To Be Disbanding,
Declares That Cells Are Ready, Urges Action
On March 18, the neo-Nazi environmental group the Green
Brigade announced on their Telegram channel that they were disbanding,
due to the “sudden” and “prolonged disappearance of certain key
members including the founder.” The Green Brigade further claimed to
have members around the world, and warned that even though they were
dissolving, activities from their members would continue and that they
have “created cells in multiple locations who now have the capacity to
go dark and complete their objectives without compromising their
activities by alerting people online.” The group ended their
communication by stating that their members would take “a proactive
approach off the radar,” and urged their subscribers to do the same.
The channel had 1,156 subscribers on March 19.
The group’s leader and membership size are unknown, however
the Green Brigade has been alleged to have had ties with the
accelerationist neo-Nazi group the Base. The group has previously threatened at
least one journalist and one member is alleged to have set fire to a mink farm near
Sölvesborg, Sweden on October 30, 2019. The group has described
themselves as “accelerationist eco-extremists,” and have praised Ted
Kaczynski and promoted neo-Nazism. The Green Brigade is one of the
only groups to have defended the Base’s leader Rinaldo Nazzaro, a.k.a.
Norman Spear/Roman Wolf, after his identity and location in Russia
were exposed.
The Green Brigade has either posted propaganda flyers or
claimed to have members in six locations: Scotland and London in the
UK, Nacka in Sweden, and Florida, New Hampshire, and Arkansas, in the
U.S. The group’s claim to be dissolving comes after similar
accelerationist groups the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) claimed to have disbanded on March 14, and the
Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) claimed to have stopped functioning on February 8.
While it is possible that AWD and FKD will either rebrand, or that
their members will continue their activities either in new groups, or
as individuals, the Green Brigade is the only accelerationist group to
have recently disbanded that has explicitly stated that their cells
will continue activity.
ISIS Online Supporters Praise
Coronavirus
ISIS online supports on the RocketChat platform praised the
coronavirus for killing Americans, Europeans, and Iranians. Users also
stated that the coronavirus did not exist in ISIS controlled areas,
implying that the group is impervious to infection. Official ISIS publications have warned their members of the
coronavirus.
German Atomwaffen Division Gab Page
Located
A profile allegedly made by the German Atomwaffen Division
was located this week on the Gab social media platform. The page was
created in March 2020, and their first post was on March 16. The page
contains a link to an audio statement by the group where they declare
that the German branch of the Atomwaffen Division has not disbanded,
and state that they’re getting ready for an upcoming conflict. The Gab
page also contains holocaust denial propaganda. On March 19, the page
only had two followers. The page was removed within 24 hours after it
was reported.
Founder Of The Neo-Nazi Rise Above Movement Posts
Video To YouTube Defending The Organization
On March 17, Robert Rundo, the cofounder of the Rise Above
Movement (RAM), posted a video on YouTube defending the group. Rundo,
who was in Belgrade, Serbia in the video, claims that RAM is not a
terrorist group, and that none of their victims have testified against
them. Rundo goes on to defend the Ukrainian Azov Division, criticize
U.S. Representative Max Rose for comparing RAM to foreign terrorist organizations,
and state that the FBI is on a “wild witch hunt.” After being online
for two days, the video had over 260 views. YouTube has previously declined to remove propaganda videos
made by the violent neo-Nazi gang from their platform. RAM operated a
clothing store on Instagram that the platform eventually removed after
being exposed by the Huffington Post.
RAM is a white supremacist street fighting crew from southern
California whose members were involved in physical assaults at
protests in California and Charlottesville, Virginia. In July 2019,
three RAM members were given prison sentences of 27, 33, and 37 months
respectively, after pleading guilty to charges related to attacking
counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Prior to his
founding of RAM, Rundo served 20 months in a New York state prison for
stabbing a rival gang member in 2009. Rundo fled the U.S. after several RAM members were
arrested in October 2018. He was eventually brought back to California
and charged with crimes related to perpetrating violence at
demonstrations, but had his charges dismissed by a judge. The Department of Justice
has stated that RAM members have previously
“documented and promoted their white supremacy ideology through
postings on various internet platforms.” RAM members have traveled to
Europe to participate in far-right
gatherings.
Christchurch Terror Attack Video Viewed Over
40,000 Times On Telegram
A copy of the Christchurch terror attack video on Telegram
has been viewed over 40,000 times as of March 19, 2020. The video was
uploaded shortly after the attack on March 15, 2019. The channel that
uploaded the video had over 3,600 subscribers on March 19, 2020, and
has praised and glorified the alleged Christchurch attacker, and urged
similar attacks. Telegram has refused to take action against the
channel, or the spread of the Christchurch attack video on their
platform.
Nordic Resistance Movement Seeks To Recruit
Amidst Coronavirus And Economic Downturn
Simon Lindberg, the leader of the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) posted a blog on
March 16 stating that long term effects of the coronavirus could
benefit his group. While stating that he was sorry for the deaths
caused by the coronavirus, and the economic damage to Scandinavian
workers, Lindberg also expressed his “great excitement” regarding the
effects of the coronavirus, including the economic fallout, because it
could lead to a “national uprising.” Further, he urged his readers to
withdraw their money from banks and join the NRM. The NRM website uses
Cloudflare as their name server.
