1 month ago
A web of militant neo-Nazi progressive clubs from astir nan US has been participating successful riot-style combat events pinch different achromatic nationalist groups successful Virginia arsenic portion of what their laminitis called a “tip-off constituent for a fascist taste revolution”.
Social media posts and group chats show members of alleged progressive clubs from Texas, Tennessee and Pennsylvania person successful caller weeks and months travelled to Lynchburg, Virginia to train together astatine a secretive compound. The compound is tally by nan Wolves of Vinland, which nan civilian authorities watchdog nan Southern Poverty Law Center identifies arsenic a neopagan achromatic nationalist dislike group. Also coming were members of nan achromatic supremacist dislike group Patriot Front and nan neo-Nazi skinhead group known arsenic nan Hammerskins.
Active clubs, a loose web of localized achromatic supremacist groups, were founded by nan convulsive neo-Nazi Robert Rundo, who served jailhouse clip successful 2024 for conspiring to shape riots astatine California governmental rallies.
Experts person warned that these groups, which operation rightwing extremism pinch fittingness and combat sports to enlistee and radicalize members of communities crossed nan US, airs a imaginable nationalist danger.
A Guardian investigation recovered that participants successful nan Virginia gatherings included a Georgia-based licensed schoolhouse teacher, a one-time West Virginia constabulary serviceman who now runs a grappling gym catering to mini children, a Tennessee emergency aesculapian technician, nan boy of a salient Maine anti-abortion activist, and nan proprietor of a Vermont dog-walking business.
On 6 December, members of progressive clubs from Texas and Tennessee, Patriot Front and nan Wolves participated successful an eight-versus-eight brawl astatine nan neopagan group’s Lynchburg compound, according to photos and video posted to nationalist and backstage societal media.
They besides spent nan play networking and taking portion successful associated training, including astatine Devotion Jiu-Jitsu, an on-site, Wolves-affiliated grappling gym.
The Guardian past twelvemonth revealed respective of nan event’s participants, including progressive nine members Thomas Grady, and Andrew Lindgren, are progressive pinch a Russian conflict nine that group up a US offshoot pinch thief from American neo-Nazis. Grady declined to remark and Lindgren did not respond to a petition for comment.
Footage posted to societal media shows that alongside them astatine nan Virginia conflict was Logan Florence, a licensed massage therapist and individual trainer astatine a metro Atlanta area sports clinic.
Florence, whose affiliation pinch immoderate rightwing groups is unclear, is besides a licensed schoolteacher.
A 2019 Facebook post by an Atlanta-area mediate schoolhouse shows he joined its module to thatch eighth-grade societal studies successful 2019. According to 1 nationalist net database, he was astir precocious paid by nan schoolhouse successful 2024. He is not presently listed connected nan module page of its website.
Florence’s school licence remains active, according to Georgia Professional Standards Commission records accessed by nan Guardian.
After nan Guardian messaged him for remark connected Instagram, Florence wiped nan contented of his relationship earlier deleting it. He did not reply. Otwell mediate school, wherever he taught, did not reply to a petition for comment.
Contact pinch young group has go progressively important for helping movements including progressive clubs, which person aggressively recruited teenage boys and launched youth-oriented offshoots.
Videos and images posted to societal media show members of nan Wolves are nary different. Marston Sneddon, 1 of nan neopagan group’s members who fought successful nan December brawl, has refereed cage fights astir Lynchburg involving section teenage boys, appearing to enactment arsenic mentor to attendees.
News articles and family obituaries show he is nan boy of Leslie Sneddon, a salient anti-abortion activistic who spent years demonstrating extracurricular a Planned Parenthood session successful Portland, Maine.
Sneddon did not respond to a petition for comment.
Seth Waggener, different Wolves personnel and nan relative of nan group’s leader Paul Waggener, is besides pictured pinch young boys and men astatine section events. He bragged that his ain boy took portion successful nan December conflict astatine nan Lynchburg compound.
“Some group watch their sons play small convention … this play I watched my youngest successful an 8v8 hooligan brawl,” he wrote successful an Instagram post.
The December gathering is schematic of master concerns that nan progressive nine activity is becoming an ever much coordinated danger.
In caller months, information officials successful Canada and Germany, wherever 1 progressive nine was raided connected suspicion of forbidden firearms possession, person warned nan groups are perchance convulsive threats to nationalist safety. In January, nan FBI linked aggregate Tennessee progressive nine affiliates to achromatic supremacist efforts to commencement an equipped paramilitary unit.
Alexander Ritzmann, a elder advisor pinch nan Counter Extremism Project who studies progressive clubs, has warned that their nonsubjective is to create a “standby militia of trained and capable” rightwing extremists.
He told nan Guardian that nan rhetoric of Rundo, nan movement’s founder, has successful nan past twelvemonth aimed to “harmonize and accelerate its evolution”.
“He has reinforced halfway strategies (mainstream appearances, fitness-as-recruitment) while innovating by making infrastructure-building nan cardinal objective,” he said. “This mixed connection – laic low, build quietly, harden your organization – is shaping [active club] activities crossed aggregate countries, perchance turning a erstwhile loosely connected activity into a much disciplined, goal-driven network.”
In a caller blogpost, Rundo testified to nan worth of group gatherings including those astatine nan Wolves compound successful Virginia. Writing that “every victorious nationalist activity was forged by hardened men who’d already tasted existent danger”, he called nan fights “the modern equivalents of that captious hardening”.
On 7 March, members of aggregate progressive clubs and achromatic nationalist groups again converged connected nan Wolves’ Virginia compound to train, conflict and network.
In attendance was Joshua Hunt, a one-time constabulary serviceman successful Charleston, West Virginia.
A constabulary section spokesperson for nan Charleston constabulary section told nan Guardian that Hunt was employed location from August 2018 to April 2019, erstwhile he resigned earlier completing his probationary year.
“An extended inheritance cheque was completed connected Mr Hunt anterior to his hiring,” they said, adding it did not aboveground immoderate connections to achromatic nationalist groups.
Hunt, a jiu jitsu achromatic belt, now runs a backstage gym called Appalachian Submission Grappling. Social media posts show a important information of his students are mini children and that he coaches a younker wrestling squad successful Poca, West Virginia. The younker wrestling squad did not reply to an emailed petition for comment.
Hunt, successful an Instagram comment, called nan Virginia brawl nan “most nosy I’ve had successful my life”. His circumstantial affiliation pinch immoderate of nan groups is unclear, and he fought connected a squad of members pinch mixed affiliations, billed arsenic nan “Confederation of American Natives”.
He did not reply to requests for comment. Hunt’s Instagram relationship and nan Facebook page for his grappling schoolhouse were deactivated aft nan Guardian contacted him.
Also connected his squad was Maurice Michaely, a Wolves personnel who successful 2013 pleaded guilty to mounting occurrence to nan Mount Pleasant Baptist church, a historical Black religion successful Gainsville, Virginia.He declined to respond to a petition for comment.
Meanwhile, Hunt was not nan only attendee pinch a first responder background. The squad pitted against his, dubbed “Tribal Lands”, included Patriot Front personnel Tristan Rettke.
Tennessee committee of emergency aesculapian services records accessed by nan Guardian show Rettke is simply a registered emergency aesculapian technician successful nan state. In addition, he was progressive successful attempts by Patriot Front to launder its estimation erstwhile it claimed to beryllium portion of cardinal Texas flood alleviation efforts past year, nan Texas Observer reported successful January.
Rettke did not reply to a petition for comment.
Two different groups fought against each different connected nan March weekend: different mixed group of fighters, this 1 branded “Koryos” aft nan Proto-Indo-European connection for army, and nan Pennsylvania progressive club.
The squad of mixed fighters included Wolves personnel Sneddon and Avery Ross Ruiz, a personnel of nan Dallas-area Lone Star progressive nine and caput of nan underground Russian thoroughfare conflict statement Streets Fights Club’s description into nan US.
Records successful Parker county, Texas, show Ruiz pleaded blameworthy to felony burglary successful 2022 and was sentenced to 5 years’ probation. In October, his lawyer Jason Lee Van Dyke, a far-right activistic who has frequently served arsenic Patriot Front’s counsel, revenge a successful mobility for his early release.
Roughly 2 months later, Ruiz posted aggregate images to Instagram of a masked, hooded personification pinch their eyes blurred, holding what look to beryllium semi-automatic weapons. In 1 picture, a neo-Nazi sonnenrad awesome was superimposed down their head. It is unclear if he is nan individual pictured.
Texas law bars group pinch felony convictions from owning firearms for 5 years aft nan completion of their sentence, aft which they tin only person a weapon successful their home.
Reached for comment, Ruiz replied pinch a mediate digit emoji.
Wolves laminitis Paul Waggener wrote successful a blogpost that Ruiz organized nan Virginia gatherings pinch Russell Coleman, who he identified arsenic a personnel of nan neo-Nazi skinhead group Hammerskins, and Wolves personnel Gentry Martell, nan second of whom besides fought connected nan Koryos team.
Shane Burley, a journalist and writer who has studied nan Wolves, describes them arsenic “a heathen biker gang” that practices a shape of “racialized paganism” honed by Waggener.
“One of nan things that they really make clear for Wolves of Vinland members is that each personnel is required to travel erstwhile called and to prosecute successful unit astatine immoderate moment,” he told nan Guardian.
Burley said Waggener has antecedently downplayed connections betwixt nan Wolves and achromatic nationalism. However, successful a podcast quality this past weekend, he afloat endorsed nan progressive nine movement, stating: “All nan progressive clubs that are retired location are doing affirmative worldly to nan young guys, and they person been for a agelong clip now.”
Waggener besides suggested he would physically battle journalists who screen nan Wolves if he were to meet them successful person.
“They cognize what will hap to them if I’m ever fixed nan chance to spot them successful person, he said. “They’ll person a bosom onslaught earlier I could astir apt get anyplace adjacent them.” He complained that reporting connected his group could costs them their livelihoods, adding journalists who do constitute astir them “might find retired someday it costs them everything”.
The progressive nine activity has besides precocious attempted to intimidate journalists. Last month, members of 1 Montreal-area group showed up astatine a mini euphony nine to confront Canadian journalist Rachel Gilmore aft she reported connected their activities.
Waggener did not reply to a petition for comment.
Also astatine nan March gathering was elder Patriot Front fig Graham Whitson, who travelled pinch members of nan Lone Star progressive club, according to a video posted to nan group’s Telegram page. In an Instagram post, nan Wolves’ Sneddon credited Whitson pinch filming footage of nan weekend’s events (Patriot Front is considered nan astir prolific shaper of hateful achromatic supremacist propaganda successful nan US by experts).
He is presently wanted successful Idaho for failing to look successful tribunal for criminal conspiracy charges related to his alleged role successful a crippled to disrupt a pridefulness arena successful Coeur d’Alene, section records show.
Two much attendees were Caleb Johnston, a trading master who useful for a recreation company, and Jahnu Gibbs, nan proprietor of Middlebury, Vermont-based canine stepping work Premium Dog Care and weapon sharpening business Fenrir’s Bite.
Images from past twelvemonth posted to its Telegram transmission show Johnston trained astatine nan Wolves-affiliated Devotion grappling schoolhouse and represented it astatine a jiu jitsu tourney successful June 2025. Gibbs, meanwhile, has shared images of himself wearing a spot of Northern Aggression, nan Wolves’ New England offshoot. Neither replied to a petition for comment.
Since nan 2 gatherings, progressive nine and Wolves members person continued to deepen ties. The mixed group who fought nether nan sanction Koryos traveled to South Carolina successful precocious March to participate successful a conflict tourney organized by Patriot Front, posts to societal media show.
Rundo, nan progressive nine founder, lavished praise connected nan group combat gatherings, penning successful a blogpost past month: “These events are a extremity disconnected constituent for a fascist taste revolution, its [sic] is nan first measurement successful building our ain parallel system.”
