Active Clubs and Transnational Far-Right Extremism in 2024 and Beyond

Recent years have witnessed the continued proliferation of transnational far-right extremist movements that grow increasingly emboldened in response to societal events. Prominent among them is the Active Club Network, a network of white supremacist groups that emphasize combat sport training and fitness to prevent “white genocide.” This network, which has been making increasing inroads in both the United States and Germany, serves as a central node for white supremacist recruitment and mobilization against their political enemies. 

To analyze these issues and more, the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University hosted a virtual webinar on Tuesday July 30 at 12 PM EST. In a panel discussion moderated by research fellow Jon Lewis, panelists situated the Active Club Network within the white supremacist ecosystem and explored the growth of this movement both online and offline. It featured insights from:

• Jessa Mellea, Researcher, Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS),
• Miro Dittrich, Senior Researcher, Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS),
• Freddy Cruz, Program Manager, Monitoring and Training, Western States Center.

On July 30, 2024, the Program on Extremism (PoE) at The George Washington University hosted an event titled “Active Clubs and Transnational Far-Right Extremism in 2024 and Beyond.” Panelists included Jessa Mellea, a researcher at the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), Miro Dittrich, a Senior Researcher at CeMAS, and Freddy Cruz, Program Manager of Monitoring and Training at Western States Center. The panelists joined PoE Research Fellow Jon Lewis to discuss the prevalence and proliferation of Active Clubs across Germany and the United States and the threat posed by these organizations.

Jessa Mellea provided an overview on Active Clubs, describing their conceptual introduction in 2020 by Robert Rondo — the leader of the Rise Abovement Movement, a neo-Nazi street fighting gang — who defined it as  “white nationalism 3.0.” These groups use decentralized tactics, adopting leaderless resistance to evade law enforcement. These groups are focused on real-world action, rather than just an online presence, demonstrated by their in-person fitness events. Mellea pointed out the clear accelerationist undercurrents in Active Groups’ ideology, as they argue there is no political solution to their grievances; thus, violence seeking to incite societal collapse and/or a race war is the only viable remedy to achieve their aims. They focus on “Tribe and Train”: training with other white men to defend themselves and, more broadly, the white race in the face of their perceived current societal crisis. They are also heavily concerned with their image and branding, creating high-quality propaganda that focuses on fitness first, and later introduces their white supremacist ideology.

Mellea then described the Active Clubs landscape in Germany, noting that several groups began using Telegram at the end of April 2024, with new chapters emerging on a semi-regular basis. Similar to U.S.-based Active Clubs, German Active Clubs’ ideological views are not at the forefront of their imaging, even though subtle extremist iconography is present in their propaganda. Mellea described their open arms, nonpartisan recruitment approach, in which they emphasize that new members do not need to leave their previous groups to join. This method of initially establishing a network with current extremists and then moving into the mainstream has been successful, evidenced by the cross-pollination witnessed between the neo-Nazi political scene and Active Clubs’ leadership. According to Mellea, the rise of German Active Clubs is highly concerning, as hiking and combat sports have a long history in German extremist groups, providing  fertile ground for these martial arts focused groups to grow. Mellea argues that violence will likely manifest as perceived random acts of violence, committed by individuals or small groups of members adhering to the hateful ideology.

Miro Dittrich explained that Active Clubs are not the only groups to exploit combat sports and camaraderie for recruitment purposes. Historically, youth wings of far-right parties — as well as movements such as identitäre bewegung (a pan-European white supremacist movement) — have used martial arts and hiking as part of their recruitment and propaganda. The Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy has located, in total, 72 entities on various social media platforms utilizing physical training as part of their broader strategy. Dittrich described the dangers of this tactic by highlighting the increase in far-right political violence in Germany, which increased by 8.5% from 2022 to 2023. He noted examples of highly organized far-right fighting events, including, most recently, the “Europa Congress: Fighting for Europe,” which featured three German extremist groups and nine from other countries.

Lastly, Dittroch expressed concerns about this violence cascading into terrorism. To demonstrate how young men collectively training in martial arts can escalate into terrorism, Dittrich cited a group called Knockout 51. This group, founded in 2019,  possesses a goal of violence against political opponents and the creation of a neo-Nazi district in Germany. Four of its members were charged with forming a terrorist group, but the court did not convict them on this charge. Nevertheless, they were convicted of forming a criminal organization and were sentenced to several years in prison, but the decision has been appealed and other members are continuing to be investigated.

Freddy Cruz offered further insight into the proliferation of Active Clubs in the U.S., focusing on the Pacific Northwest. White nationalists are drawn to this region due to its history, low population density, and significant presence of white people. This has allowed Pacific Northwest Active Clubs to work closely with other previously established white supremacist groups in the area. Recently, Active Clubs in the region have worked with other white nationalist organizations to target pride events, attempt to infiltrate pro-Palestinian protests, and have sought to penetrate immigrant community spaces. Active Club activity in the region poses a threat to marginalized communities, such as queer and immigrant communities, and has the potential to cause significant harm.

Cruz echoed the observations of earlier panelists, explaining how Active Clubs do not lead with ideology, and instead draw recruits from the mainstream by marketing themselves as a fitness organization. In the Pacific Northwest, where outdoor activities are immensely popular, Active Clubs have a large recruitment pool from which to draw from. Cruz explained that as Active Clubs and other white nationalist organizations remain active in the Pacific Northwest, it is important for organizations like the Western States Center to diligently work to mitigate this threat and educate residents of these states on the dangers posed by white nationalism and far-right extremism. Specifically, the Western States Center is working to ensure that elections are safe and secure by monitoring the threats posed by groups like Active Clubs. Cruz noted that while election security is the Center’s current priority, they expect to continue to see Active Clubs using the War in Gaza to spread anti-semitic conspiracy theories, as well as continue their efforts to infiltrate pride events and LGBTQ+ organizations.