Inside neo-Nazi social network The Base that coordinates secret paramilitary training for ultra-violent US extremists
A NEO-Nazi social media network coordinating secretive paramilitary training for extremists hell-bent on committing acts of right-wing terror “poses a significant risk to public safety”, experts say.
The Base is a group that unites white separatists who allegedly wish to carry out acts of violence against the government, Jews, people of color, and the LGBT community.
Its founder, who uses the pseudonyms Norman Spear and Roman Wolf, claims to be an Afghanistan war vet.
Little is known about him, but he is apparently driven by a sickening desire to provide Nazis around the world with terrorist skills.
Joshua Fisher-Birch, a research analyst with Counter Extremism Project (CEP), is convinced the group poses a credible threat.
He told The Sun Online: “The Base poses a significant risk to public safety.
“[This is] due to the group’s desire to commit acts of terrorism against the government and groups such as Jews, people of color, LGBT people, and journalists.
“The Base has previously posted information on explosives and has organized training camps where they have conducted firearms drills.
“From an ideological perspective, it is possible that the group might eventually attempt to commit acts of terrorism to further their… agenda.”
Brian Levin of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at CSU, agreed these “silos of radicalism, incubators of radicalism” were dangerous.
“Even just up to Charlottesville, there was an attempt to mainstream white supremacy,” Levin explained, referencing the bloody 2017 protest in Virginia.
“Now, we have a very splintered and fragmented neo-Nazi and white supremacy scene that includes more stealth groups which are often a bit smaller and more violent.”
Levin added that advocating a certain type of violence, accompanied by operational trainings “makes this type of group a more dangerous outfit than [others].”
Who are ‘The Base?’
The primary purpose of The Base is to organize zealous white nationalists and build connections ahead of the “race war” they think is coming.
“Social media will be a wonderful record for figuring out what surviving whites will get the rope in the new state,” wrote one member called ‘Patrick,‘ in a chilling threat to those who don’t believe in his warped ideology.
Their recruitment propaganda posters include neo-Nazi slogans like “Together, we will secure a future for our people.”
VICE reports that members discussed making pipe bombs in their secret messaging forum.
The Base also provides guerilla warfare training, bomb-making, as well as information on guns and chemical weaponry.
And there is information provided about “Chemicals that kill you in 30 seconds or less” in their private multi-channel chat.
Al Qaeda actually translates as “the base” but it is not known whether Norman’s Spear’s took inspiration from the Islamic fundamentalists when he chose the name for his extremist group.
As yet, they haven’t committed any recorded terrorist attacks, but federal authorities accused one member Richard Tobin of organizing the vandalism of two synagogues earlier this year.
He allegedly recruited vandals via The Base using the network as a way to organize the attacks in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Tobin, 18, reportedly said he planned a violent attack against black shoppers at a New Jersey mall he didn’t follow through with.
He said he considered “suicide by cop” after his arrest in November, reports say.
From an ideological perspective, it is possible that the group might eventually attempt to commit acts of terrorism to further their accelerationist agenda.
Joshua Fisher-Birch, a research analyst with Counter Extremism Project
Earlier this year, disturbing footage of The Base’s training sessions emerged.
Dressed in camouflage and armed with assault rifles, members marched, conducted firearms drills, and even burned the American flag.
Chillingly, they conducted a book burning reminiscent of those the Nazis carried out around the time of WWII.
Founder Norman Spear reportedly thinks gun control and hate speech laws will drive radicalization and insurrection, according to Medium.
Before launching The Base in June 2018, he outlined his strategy in a series of videos where he lauded lone wolf guerrilla tactics.
This neo-Nazi reportedly wants an all-white nationalist “homeland” in the Northwest.
Disturbingly, The Base has extreme-right connections with groups the Atomwaffen Division and the Feuerkrieg Division.
Spear aims to create a network that could provide a communal training ground for Nazis all round the world and the group claim their digital reach is on a disturbingly global scale.
In a worrying twist, many members claim to have military training experience, much like The Base’s founder.
“[It’s] is very highly sought after and regarded within a movement that prides itself on being let by a small [group] of specialized white warriors,” Levin explained.
Where do they operate?
The group announced its presence in New York, LA, and Seattle, and further afield in Europe, South Africa and Australia.
The social media networking site really ramped up the recruiting process significantly last year, according to VICE.
They use memes to attract gen-z recruits via their sign-up website and now defunct Twitter account.
VICE states that recruits fill out an online application. If accepted, they’re invited to a server operated by Riot, a secure chat app.
CEP told The Sun Online that The Base have regional chat groups as well as their primary web forum.
They previously had a following on Twitter and Reddit but their accounts were deleted.
Supporters now upload video content to BitChute and the Internet Archive, say CEP. The Base also have a channel on Telegram.
Helping an ex-soldier to illegally enter the US
The Base are reportedly hiding Patrik Jordan Mathews, 26, a Canadian ex-solider with links to neo-Nazis, whose whereabouts are unknown.
The extremist group is said to have helped Mathews to enter into the US illegally from his native Manitoba and have since kept his location under wraps.
US authorities urged people not to approach Mathews and despite not being charged with any crimes, Canadian police seized a number of weapons from his home after he disappeared.
His links to neo-Nazis cost him a military career as he was stripped of his duties back in August.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police told The Sun Online that the investigation into his disappearance was ongoing.
The Winnipeg Free Press had previously exposed Mathews’ desire to establish “a white supremacist terror cell in Manitoba” before he fled.
Mathews claimed to have crossed the border multiple times to attend The base’s “hate camps,” the Free Press reported following an undercover investigation of the group.
His military past means Mathews has experience using explosives, which Fisher-Birch said “is especially concerning.”
And his disturbing agenda fit right in with The Base’s racist raison d’être of “direct action” against minority groups, namely the Jewish community and black Americans.
The aim of the group? To bring digital hate speech to it’s natural conclusion: violence, which is why military recruits like Mathews are vital.
The news of Mathews disappearance and The Base’s involvement comes as the FBI continues to fight the rise of this violent insurgency in America.
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Federal law enforcement officials are fighting domestic terrorism, mass shootings, and white nationalism’s neo-Nazi branch countrywide.
But their power are limited, regarding the spread of neo-Nazism material due to the First Amendment protections for hate speech.
There’s no exception for hate speech under this protection for freedom of expression, unless it’s direct, personal, and either truly threatening or violently provocative.