Latest news with #TheBase
The Guardian
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Neo-Nazi group ‘actively seeking to grow in US' with planned paramilitary training event
An international neo-Nazi terrorist organization is boldly continuing to build in the US and planning a new paramilitary training event without fear of local authorities or the FBI, which once dismantled it in a nationwide effort. The Base, founded in 2018 by a former Pentagon contractor living in Russia and now suspected of Kremlin-sponsored espionage, once boasted close to 50 stateside members before the bureau made more than a dozen arrests in a years-long counter-terrorism operation. But since the presidential election campaign last year and what many then believed to be a surefire victory for Donald Trump, the Base saw an opportunity in a potential administration uninterested in policing white supremacy and went about ramping up its ranks. Now, the Base has a presence in Ukraine, performing sabotage operations inside the country against the embattled government, and new and dangerous cells emerging across Europe, and it appears to be growing in the US, where the FBI under the Maga acolyte Kash Patel has signalled it isn't prioritizing investigations of far-right extremism. In its early history, part of what first piqued the interest of authorities was the Base's courting of military veterans who could help drill its foot soldiers in a series of training camps across the US. Eventually implicated in an assassination plot, mass shootings and other actions in Europe, the Base went so far as to have a fortified compound and cell in Michigan, led by a US army dropout. Online evidence from its various accounts, several of which live on Russian servers to avoid censorship on American sites, shows the Base has real plans for a national gathering this summer where members intend to train in paramilitary drills as in years past. 'The Base in [the] USA is preparing for an upcoming national training event,' reads one of its recent posts soliciting crypto donations. 'This one might be our most attended training event in [the] USA in a while. We could really use some financial support to help our members with travel expenses.' The post continued: 'When you donate money to the Base, you're investing in a White Defense Force that's aiming to protect white people from political persecution and physical destruction.' The Base then published a new photo of armed members claiming to be in the midwest, which follows a trend in 2025 of the group bragging about its unafraid American presence. As a sort of taunt to its enemies, on the day of Trump's inauguration the Base released a photo of four members somewhere in Appalachia, in what was the largest number of American members in one photo in over a year. 'The upcoming national training event indicates that the group is seeking to grow and is willing to take the risk of advertising it publicly in advance,' said Joshua Fisher-Birch, an analyst of far-right terrorism who has been following the Base's movements for close to a decade. 'The Base appears to be actively seeking to grow in the US.' Fisher-Birch notes that even if the gathering involves 'fewer than 20 people', it is by no means 'low profile' and suggests the group sees momentum is on its side. 'An event entails planning, coordination, travel and face-to-face meetings between different regional groups, indicating that they operate in an environment where they view the potential amount of risk as acceptable,' he said. 'The group has previously stated multiple times that being a member or training with them is a risky endeavor; however, planning a meetup, which they will inevitably use for propaganda purposes, is a different approach than even a year ago, when the group advertised regional activities.' In response to queries about the Base's latest movements, the FBI told the Guardian that it only investigates people who have or are planning to commit a federal crime and pose 'a threat to national security'. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion 'Our focus is not on membership in particular groups but on criminal activity,' said a spokesperson for the FBI. 'Membership in groups is not illegal in and of itself and is protected by the first amendment.' But in Michigan and in Georgia, members of the Base were charged with their criminal associations to the group. The Trump administration's security posture on the far right is to downplay its significance. Yet experts unanimously agree: it is the top domestic terrorism threat facing the country. Instead, Patel, the FBI's director, has gone about removing agents from pursuing the far right, while one of Trump's first actions in his second term was to provide unconditional pardons, en masse, to all of the January 6 insurrectionists. Fisher-Birch also pointed out that the Base had taken itself more seriously and upped its activities in Ukraine to the tune of calling for the murder of government officials and acts of sabotage – with the clearly stated goal of forming a white ethnostate in the west of the country. Already, the Ukrainian cell has uploaded geolocated videos of some of these attacks, one showing the burning of a military vehicle and what looks like a government electrical box. In a video released on a Russian video-sharing site in mid-May, Rinaldo Nazzaro, the founder and leader of the Base, who is living in St Petersburg, released a video describing the importance of new training videos proving to potential recruits that his group is not just online, but in the real world. 'It's propaganda through actions, not just words,' he said. It isn't clear where the paramilitary training will take place, but Nazzaro is known to have purchased land in the Pacific north-west that he intended to use as a headquarters for the Base and its activities.
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Is Russia co-opting US far-right groups to attack western democracies?
A former Pentagon contractor works with secretive sections of US special forces, then ups and moves to Russia. He gets married, radicalizes and starts popping up on Telegram channels as the leader of a neo-Nazi terrorist group recruiting Americans. Soon, allegations swirl that he is a Russian spy. While this sounds like something Tom Clancy would write, it is reality: Rinaldo Nazzaro, better known as the leader of the Base, once worked in drone targeting with the US Special Operations Command in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, the Guardian revealed allegations from inside the Base that he was long suspected of working with the FSB, one of Russia's main intelligence services. If true, the startling revelation about Nazzaro fits into the Kremlin's well-documented global mission of co-opting far-right and criminal organizations to carry out attacks on western democracies. That mission is very much alive and well. 'The Kremlin plays the long game and is highly invested in developing assets that can be used to wreak havoc in the west,' said Colin Clarke, a geopolitics expert and director of research at the Soufan Center who has closely followed Russia's flurry of sabotage operations around the world. 'Russian intelligence services are using far-right terror groups to their advantage.' Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, world governments have been on edge: without the unlimited military resources it had during the cold war era, the Kremlin has turned to the tactics of hybrid warfare to undermine its enemies and neighbors. A spate of suspected covert assassinations, arsons and sabotage in the west have followed. 'Russia has also been accused of funding far-right political parties, which can serve as a Trojan horse of sorts for more nefarious operations,' said Clarke. Part of this global mission has included using disinformation to stoke xenophobic online sentiments in Britain and elsewhere. Laundering cash payments to far-right political parties across Europe through dodgy media outlets has also become a mainstay in the Kremlin playbook. But in some other cases, using connections through its globally designated terror group the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), the Kremlin has provided on-the-ground paramilitary training to Swedish extremists outside their country and then sent them back. In another separate incident, Russia was suspected of having a hand in getting Polish militants to attempt a false flag attack in Ukraine. 'Since Moscow can be strategic when it comes to state-sponsored terrorism, the Kremlin may be cultivating relationships with these groups as a form of strategic depth, saving them for a rainy day so to speak,' Clarke explained, referring to the Base. 'In some ways, it's similar to how countries like Iran and Pakistan maintain linkages with terrorist groups.' In October, the head of the UK's domestic intelligence service, MI5, accused Russian agents of being behind 'actions conducted with increasing recklessness' on European and British soil. Stateside, there is not the same extensive evidence of similar direct action via Kremlin assets using far-right extremist groups – but there has been no shortage of suspicions. 'That was a joke going around and we never confirmed it, but you tell me,' said Scott Payne, a former FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Base, about Nazzaro's links to Russian handlers. 'You got a guy who is a citizen, graduated from Villanova, [worked] somewhere in the army, flipped, radicalized, and then moved to St Petersburg, Russia, and has a Russian wife and kids.' Payne, who recently released the memoir Code Name: Pale Horse about his experiences in the Base and other assignments with the far right as a bureau agent, explained that Nazzaro set off alarm bells both inside his group and the FBI. 'I didn't confirm it, but I was told they had tracked a million dollars going through his account, but all he was doing was supposed to be teaching English?' Payne said. 'It goes with the [modus operandi], right? If you're talking about foreign influence [operations].' Nazzaro, who appeared in a widely panned interview on Russian state television in 2020 denying that he was an agent of their government, has roundly denied any claims he has nefarious government backers. 'The news media has recently, once again, dragged out the old and tired accusation of me being a government agent,' Nazzaro said in a Telegram statement released in late April. 'I have never had contact with Russian security services.' But in April, the Base unveiled a Ukrainian cell offering operatives money for assassinating politicians in the country or attacking police and military targets. Backlash followed, with Ukrainian and American far-right Telegram accounts accusing Nazzaro of being a spy in league with Russia. It also coincided with reports that Russia was enhancing its recruitment of Ukrainian locals, whom it is sending on suicide missions in the Kherson region. 'How does the Base have money for so [many] bots and rewards for actions?' speculated one anti-Nazzaro user affiliated with the Base on Telegram. 'I wonder who funds them.' Sources inside the US intelligence community had previously said there were suspicions Nazzaro was working for or being financed by Russian security services. At one point, given his residence in St Petersburg, the former nerve center of the infamous mercenary outfit the Wagner Group, theories arose that he could be working with it. For a time, Wagner had enjoyed a close relationship with the RIM and other neo-Nazi groups as it was ambitiously looking to partner with foreign elements and increase its global reach. Clarke noted that the news that Nazzaro was purportedly acting under the direction of the Kremlin was not shocking to analysts in or outside government. 'If this is true, it will be interesting to see how Nazzaro was recruited,' he said. 'I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Russia is maintaining relationships with far-right groups throughout the globe, from Latin America to eastern Europe and beyond.'
Fox News
29-04-2025
- Fox News
Going Undercover In An Extremist Group
Scott Payne spent 23 years with the FBI and went undercover to expose and take down some of the country's most violent criminal organizations. But one mission stands out the most to him: becoming 'Pale Horse,' and infiltrating the deadly operations of a white nationalist group known as The Base, by posing as a Nazi. Retired FBI Special Agent Scott Payne reflects on his storied career in law enforcement and discusses some of his most harrowing undercover assignments, as detailed in his new book, Code Name: Pale Horse . Follow Emily on Instagram: @realemilycompagno If you have a story or topic we should feature on the FOX True Crime Podcast, send us an email at: truecrimepodcast@ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Gulf Today
10-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf Today
AGUA by Citi Developers – redefining the future of luxury living
Gulf Network Citi Developers, a pioneer in boutique, high-end real estate, introduces AGUA, a visionary residential masterpiece that redefines the art of island living. Designed as more than just a development, AGUA is a multi-sensory experience, where architecture, innovation, and nature seamlessly blend to create an unparalleled lifestyle. Following the success of Allura, one of Dubai's most exclusive developments, Citi Developers continues to push boundaries with AGUA, offering a new benchmark in sophisticated, intelligent living. Every detail of AGUA is meticulously designed to immerse residents in fluid luxury, from its sculptural architectural elements to its AI-powered smart living solutions. THE AGUA EXPERIENCE – WHERE DESIGN MEETS TECHNOLOGY At the heart of AGUA lies a philosophy of balance, innovation, and craftsmanship. The development integrates state-of-the-art materials, seamless smart automation, and bespoke interior artistry, ensuring that every home is an extension of the resident's lifestyle and vision. Key highlights of AGUA include: Cloud 9 – A Rooftop Escape Beyond Imagination A sanctuary in the sky, Cloud 9 features floating cabanas, an infinity beach pool, and a sunken pool bar, creating a seamless blend between the ocean and skyline. The One – A Wellness and Entertainment Hub Designed to nurture the mind, body, and soul, The Base offers a Roman bath spa, outdoor yoga spaces, a private cinema, and world-class fitness facilities, making well-being an integral part of daily life. The Base – A Sculptural Entrance into Luxury The Orobico marble reception desk and crystal chandeliers create a statement of elegance, welcoming residents into a world of timeless sophistication from the moment they arrive. Citi Buddy Personal Assistant Robot Every residence is equipped with Personal Assistant Robot AI-powered smart automation, allowing for seamless home management, concierge services, and personalized convenience, setting a new standard in next-generation living. A VISION BEYOND ARCHITECTURE "I don't just build homes; I craft experiences that shape the way people live. AGUA is our vision of what modern living should be—intelligent, seamless, and connected to nature in every way,' said the CEO of Citi Developers. With a legacy of designing iconic, high-end developments like Allura, Citi Developers continues to push boundaries, ensuring that every project is a masterpiece of artistry and innovation. A NEW ERA OF BESPOKE LIVING AGUA is more than just a place to live—it is a statement of lifestyle, a philosophy of design, and a commitment to the future of intelligent living. Citi Developers remains dedicated to creating extraordinary residential experiences that go beyond expectations, setting a new global standard for boutique luxury real estate.
BBC News
29-03-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Wiltshire in pics: Concerts, porcupines and tractor protests
It's been an eventful week in Wiltshire as usual, with farmers gathering in Swindon to protest the new inheritance tax that will begin in at Longleat welcomed a new arrival, and a long-awaited youth centre was opened in this and more is in our image round-up from across the county. In concert: On Thursday singers and musicians from Salisbury Cathedral held their spring concert for parents and families in the historic building. New facility: Young people in Swindon celebrated the opening of a brand new youth centre called The Base. Welcome aboard: Longleat Safari Park has welcomed its first ever baby North American tree porcupine, otherwise known as a porcupette. Leading the way: Swindon's very own bin-fluencer - 10 year old Amelia - got a tour of the town's recycling plant as she campaigns for more recycling. Precious species: Dog walkers in Nightingale Woods, South Marston, were asked to be extra careful to help protect the rare great crested newts, the UK's largest newt species. Man's best friends: The sunny days have made walking the dogs or heading out into nature much more enjoyable. Blooms: Flowers have been popping up as the warmer weather arrives, including these Magnolias in Charlton. Look to the skies: The effects of a space launch on the other side of the Atlantic were visible in Westbury in the form of a spinning spiral of light.
