Warning Issued Over 'Explosion' of Neo Nazi Clubs in US
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A warning has been issued over the increasing number of neo-Nazi clubs in the United States.
According to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), there has been an "explosion" in the number of active chapters of neo-Nazi Active Clubs (ACs) in the U.S. and other countries. The group is raising alarm about this trend, calling it a "growing transnational threat."
Why It Matters
Active Clubs are a transnational network of sports clubs that were founded by the white supremacist Robert Rundo and the Russian neo-Nazi Denis Kapustin in 2020. Rundo is one of the founders of a U.S. far-right organization called the Rise Above Movement (RAM) and was sentenced to jail in 2024 for conspiracy to riot at Californian political rallies in 2017. Kapustin is a far-right figure who runs the Russian Volunteer Corps and has reportedly espoused Adolf Hitler's views.
The decentralised groups engage in physical training with the purpose of being able to attack political opponents and also spread propaganda about white nationalism.
Carrying shields, covering their faces, and holding upside down U.S. flags, marchers with the Alt-Right Neo-Nazi group "Reclaim America," march in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 2023.
Carrying shields, covering their faces, and holding upside down U.S. flags, marchers with the Alt-Right Neo-Nazi group "Reclaim America," march in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 2023.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
The growth of ACs comes amid growing concerns about the rise of white supremacist incidents more broadly. According to the Anti-Defamation League, more than 750 white supremacist incidents took place from 2020 to 2024.
They found that there were 282 events organized or attended by white supremacists in 2023, a 63 percent increase from 173 in 2022.
What To Know
The number of ACs in the U.S. has increased from 49 in October 2023, to 78 in June 2025. This is a percentage increase of 59.2 percent.
Of these, GPAHE found that at least 19 clubs representing 42 states target teen boys aged 15 to 18. Some of these groups posted neo-Nazi propaganda on social media, as seen by GPAHE, including a quote by Adolf Hitler.
GPAHE also found that globally, the number of Active Clubs has increased by 25 percent since 2023. This means that 187 chapters of the movement are now operating across 27 countries.
GPAHE tracked ACs on social media to come to these findings. They found that the groups recruit on Telegram and TikTok.
What People Are Saying
GPAHE said the movement "represents a growing transnational threat, especially as it adapts to evade platform moderation and targets young recruits."
What Happens Next
Social media platforms can adopt policies to remove the groups presence from the internet while the government can also enact policies to clamp down on the neo-Nazi movement. However, there must be political will for this to happen. In the mean time, the extent to which these groups continue to flourish remains to be seen.
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