As the Mastermind of Far-Right ‘Active Clubs’ Goes to Prison, His Violent Movement Goes Global

American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo’s six-year “battle with the feds”—a combat that spans 2 dismissals, 3 appellate reversals, and an extradition and deportation from astatine slightest 2 countries—concludes contiguous with his sentencing to national situation for attacking ideological opponents astatine governmental rallies crossed California successful 2017.

Along with respective members of the Rise Above Movement, a combat club-cum-street pack Rundo cofounded with chap extremist Ben Daley successful Southern California during the highest of the alt-right movement, Rundo was convicted connected 2018 charges of conspiracy to interruption the national Anti-Riot Act for grooming and readying a bid of attacks connected governmental opponents astatine rallies crossed California and Unite the Right successful Virginia the twelvemonth prior. While Rundo whitethorn beryllium locked down bars for years, the question helium created is moving chaotic astir the globe.

In the interceding years since his initial arrest, indictment, imprisonment, and formation from the US aft his lawsuit was initially dismissed successful 2019, Rundo helped mastermind an planetary web of RAM clones known arsenic “Active Clubs.” A transnational confederation of far-right combat clubs that intimately overlap with skinhead gangs and neofascist governmental movements successful North America, Europe, the Antipodes, and South America, the Active Club network is proliferating internationally. There are dozens of Active Clubs successful the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, Australia, and Colombia, according to the groups’ beingness connected Telegram and extremism researchers.

Seemingly harmless from the outside, Active Clubs are tiny groups of young men who spell connected hikes, bid successful combat sports, weight-lift, and physique camaraderie—all portion of the Rise Above Movement’s archetypal program. But the acheronian is successful the details: The groups’ rank often overlaps with different extremist organizations similar Patriot Front, transgression skinhead groups similar the Hammerskins, and different violent extremists successful overseas nations. Some US-based Active Clubs are branching retired into governmental intimidation and violence, similar the Rise Above Movement earlier them.

“I decidedly bash judge that successful the aboriginal determination needs to beryllium a wide movement, a wide organization, but erstwhile it comes for that, bash you truly privation a clump of guys coming strictly from the online satellite to travel articulation a wide question without having immoderate acquisition oregon skills?” Rundo said successful a video posted online soon earlier his March 2023 apprehension successful Bucharest, Romania. “Active clubs are a large section mode to commencement guys disconnected arsenic they travel from the online satellite into the existent world, to larn existent skills.”

Hannah Gais, a elder probe expert astatine the Southern Poverty Law Center who has agelong researched Rundo and his associates, says the Active Club exemplary stands retired for its debased obstruction to entry, accent connected affirmative assemblage gathering to gully caller humor from extracurricular of extremist circles, and a ready-made planetary network. “The exemplary has truly made it easier to facilitate those transnational connections,” Gais says. “If you’re not an organization, past you tin web with whoever you want.”