American neo-Nazi Robert Rundo'A six-year “battle with the feds”—a battle that spanned two dismissals, three appellate reversals, and extradition and deportation from at least two countries—to federal prison for attacking ideological opponents at political rallies across California. His sentence ended today. In 2017.
with many members of rise above the movementThe fight club-cum-street gang Rundo co-founded with fellow extremist Ben Daly in Southern California during the height of the alt-right movement, Rundo was arrested in 2018 for training and planning a conspiracy to violate the federal Anti-Riot Act. Was convicted on charges of. A series of attacks on political opponents at rallies throughout California and Unite the Right in Virginia a year ago. Although Rundo may remain behind bars for years, the movement he created is making waves around the world.
in the intervening years that followed preliminary arrestFollowing indictment, imprisonment, and fleeing the US after his case was initially dismissed in 2019, Rundo helped mastermind an international network of RAM clones known as the “Active Club”. An international coalition of far-right fight clubs that closely aligns with skinhead gangs and neofascist political movements in North America, Europe, the Antipodes, and South America. Active Club Network Spreading internationally. there are dozens of active clubs The presence of groups on Telegram and extremism, according to researchers, in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia, Australia and Colombia.
Seemingly harmless on the outside, activist clubs are small groups of young men who go hiking, train in combat sports, weight lift and build camaraderie – all part of the Rise Above Movement's core program . But the details are murky: The groups' membership often overlaps with other extremist organizations like the Patriot Front, criminal skinhead groups like the Hammerskins, and others. violent extremist In foreign countries. Some active US-based clubs are expanding into the political arena to frighten And violenceLike their first Rise Above movement.
“I definitely believe that in the future there needs to be a mass movement, a mass organization, but when it comes down to it, do you really want a group of people coming from the online world without any mass movement? Get involved? Any experience or skill? “When people come from the online world to the real world, Active Clubs are a great local way to Is.”
Hannah Guess, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center who has long researched Rundo and her colleagues, says the Active Club model stands for a lower barrier to entry, drawing new blood in from outside extremist circles. Emphasizes positive community building to attract , and a ready international network. “The model has really made it easier to facilitate those international connections,” Guess says. “If you're not an organization, you can network with whoever you want.”