Martial sports clubs have been used to enhance employment of the White National Hate Group, according to a report issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center Organization.
The report follows the efforts of the National Front – one of the most obvious groups in the White National Movement, which was formed after the “Unit The Right” assembly in Charlotteville, Virginia, in 2017 – and their focus on employing new members through active clubs.
These clubs are the smallest flexible networks than white excellence groups, as members are trained in mixed martial arts. Through sport, they are linked to white nationalist ideologies. Clubs also maintain a strong online presence to encourage young people to become extremists. The Patriot interface is used these groups to expand their scope with preservation a report He said, to evade researchers and law enforcement.
“It is a way to hide some of the movements of the Patriot Front,” said Jeff Tichu, author of the Splc report and a researcher at the non -profit legal invitation organization.
The National Front and other white national groups are expanding extremist groups in the United States – and controlling at least dozens of clubs worldwide. Since 2023, it was there 14 % increase In hate groups, according to SPLC, who says he is following 1,430 groups of hatred and government throughout the country.
The active clubs have been present since 2023 in at least 34 states, including Arizona, California, Ohio, Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Florida, According to To the counter -extremism project. Groups host training sessions, create propaganda videos and participate in demonstrations and flash gatherings, according to experts. Experts say they are paying an ideology of male superiority, exchanging personal photos of the exercise and encouraging each other to reach the physical peak in preparation for possible marches or future conflicts.
Robert Rondo, founder of a white -based white group in South California, is due to the introduction of active clubs, according to the Anti -Distinction League. In 2021, Rondo began hosting a podcast called “Active Club Podcast”, as he and his participant’s host encouraged the listeners to create their own clubs. He polished what he called “White Nationalism 3.0” – a more local, decentralized approach to the White National Movement.
Rondo was arrested in Romania in 2023 after the United States requested that he be delivered on charges of federal riots. He was sentenced to two years in prison and obtained the total of time, as he was released in December 2024.
John Lewis, a research fellow in the George Washington University of extremism, said that the shift to “White Nationality 3.0” is similar to the concepts of resistance whose leader does not return through the right -wing ecosystems.
“I think many of these groups are really working like brands,” he said.
The vocal messages and the interior memo obtained by Splc confirmed the direct affiliations between the Patriot Front and some active clubs. Texas, the active founder of Texas, was reprimanded to employ “non -European” members.
“Is our organization something completely committed to, or will you be the active club man who does your own job?” A member of Patriot Front asked, according to the Splc report.
The new recruitment method coincided with the troubled brand in Patriot Front, after years of differences from various lawsuits and sabotage. In January, it was the Patriot Front Pay $ 2.7 million as compensation for black musician attacked by the group during a Boston march in 2022. In February, a colony The Patriot interface and two non -profit organizations were reached in Northern Dakota due to allegations that the group had frightened migrant business owners.
The Patriot interface also faced an audit from the right of the right. “In some sections of this is the greatest right, the National Front is described as federal agents.” “To avoid this accusation, they use active clubs and start trying to take a look at people in national membership from there.”
The conspiracy theory has gained enough on social media to reach Elon Musk. Last year, it was published on x“This seems strange. Why is there no mask removal after arrest?” In response to a position of members of the Patriot interface that is being detained, where the X user called the “Fed Front” group.
The plot offered by the FBI factors, while right -wing activists exceed the Patriot front. Washington after the university in Maryland reconnaissance I found that a quarter of Americans believe that the FBI incited Ali January 6, 2021An attack on the American Capitol.
CBS News contacted FBI founder and Patriot Front, Thomas Roseau, via email.
Lewis said that there was a group of conspiracy theories and hateful beliefs that were once confined to the new Nazi forums and considered them marginal.
“Today, you have the richest man in the world, Members of Congress Lewis said: “Twitter is from this, as if it was like a real thing.
Since these clubs are widespread and non -proportional, Patriot Front faced challenges in employment efforts.
“They want to show themselves much greater and more dangerous than they are already.” Lewis said.
