06 August 2024 , 15:49
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The Russia-based leader of the Base, which adheres to principles of accelerationism, seeks ‘A-team leader’ in US
While far-right extremists from all corners of the internet are targeting vice-president Kamala Harris as she takes the reins of the Democratic ticket, one of the longer standing US-based neo-Nazi terror groups is also attempting to continue its covert activities as the presidential election season begins in earnest.
Rinaldo Nazzaro, 51, a former Pentagon contractor and analyst at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) turned founder of the Base, wrote on his personal Telegram account that he’s seeking a stateside leader for his organization and is willing to pay them a salary of up to $1,200 a month.
The Russia-based leader, who is the subject of an FBI investigation and once called a Department of Justice “matter” by a US government official, is not known to have set foot in the US in years. With the recent surge in racially motivated riots in the United Kingdom, authorities across the west have become increasingly concerned with Russian sponsorship of far-right extremists.
The Base was considered a domestic terrorism threat in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election campaign. The group adheres to the principles of accelerationism; a hyper violent political doctrine calling on followers to hasten the collapse of society through acts of terrorism.
“You must have knowledge and experience in fieldcraft, wilderness survival, and/or small unit tactics,” he said in the post read over 500 times. Nazzaro makes it clear the “A-Team Leader,” who he says has to be 21 years old, have a valid driver’s license and a clean record, must also come with specific skills.
“Prior military experience is not required but is highly desirable,” he said. “As the team leader, your responsibilities will include recruiting, vetting, and retaining a 6-man (or possibly 12-man) A-Team; organizing, conducting, and documenting team training sessions at least once per month.”
Nazzaro claims the funding will come from a mixture of his own personal finances and monthly donations through cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Monero. He wants anywhere between six and up to 12 members in the cell, “which would mean $1200/month for the team leader.”
The call for donations isn’t a new development within the online, far-right ecosystem: NSC-131, a New England-based neo-Nazi group, founded by a former member of the Base, has claimed to have raised over $15,000 in donations via multiple crowdfunding and crypto schemes.
A 2020 Guardian investigation revealed Nazzaro had purchased several acres of undeveloped land near Republic, Washington, that he intended to use as a training ground for the Base. His latest job listing asks for a candidate who preferably lives near Republic and that land.
Nazzaro’s post calls for the leader to pay group members a stipend and to plan a meeting location in that region as a sort of paramilitary launchpad if a civil war or societal collapse does ensue.
Joshua Fisher-Birch, an analyst at the Counter Extremism Project who has kept tabs on the Base since its inception, says the group maintains several American members and that Nazzaro often talks of having poured thousands in personal finances into the group.
“Nazzaro has claimed that he has supported the accelerationist movement with over $10,000 through his ‘personal stash of crypto,’ and he has claimed that he has spent over $20,000 on the Base, not including land in Washington state he purchased,” said Fisher-Birch, who pointed out records he reviewed in the past showing Nazzaro receiving over $3,000 in Bitcoin donations.
Fisher-Birch believes accelerationist entities, unlike the louder white supremacist group Patriot Front that openly marches in public streets, are turning to more furtive activities as November approaches.
“Neo-Nazi accelerationist groups are mainly keeping a low profile,” he said. “Their focus on promoting chaos raises the possibility that they will encourage violence or commit acts of intimidation before the election.”
First appearing in 2018, the Base was already the subject of a major nationwide FBI counterterrorism investigation netting more than a dozen of its members in prison. Over the years, members of the Base have plotted an assassination in Georgia and mass shootings, while several countries designated it as an official terrorist organization alongside the likes of Islamic State.
Last week, the European Union moved to do the same, making the Base the first far-right organization to make its sanctions list. Nazzaro has admitted in the past that he and some of his family members faced US banking troubles because of those types of international designations.
Recent activities aside, the Base is a shadow of what it was following those mass arrests in the US and infiltration by both an FBI undercover and at least one anti-fascist activist.
Though it is unlikely to boast the nearly 50 members it counted at its zenith in 2020, its Telegram posts continue to show masked men posing with firearms and in paramilitary fatigues in states across the country. One image, released in April, shows three well-armed members of the group wearing tactical outfits and holding military-style rifles in Utah.
But the Base also continues to revel in its past and still uses a propaganda video showing a firing line of its members from a 2019 paramilitary training camp in rural Pennsylvania and embarrassingly, among the attendees was the anti-fascist infiltrator.
Both Nazzaro and the official Telegram account of the Base have encouraged Europeans to join.
“In 2023 and 2024, the Base posted photos of members or pictures of propaganda activity allegedly in Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Sweden and Ukraine,” said Fisher-Birch. Last week, the Base posted an image of a new member in France.
Multiple sources in the counterterrorism field who spoke to the Guardian confirmed that Dutch and Belgian government officials were concerned about the Base and its growing presence in their respective countries, which pushed the group to be on the EU sanctions list.
Nazzaro, who is married to a Russian national and is believed to be living in St Petersburg, has long faced allegations from inside the Base and elsewhere that he is a Russian intelligence asset. In a 2020 appearance on Russian television, he tried to dispel those rumors, claiming “I’ve never had any contact with any Russian security services” and that he is a misunderstood family man.
Russian intelligence services are strongly suspected of recent destabilization operations on European soil; financing far-right extremists, sabotaging critical infrastructure and targeted killings, all in a bid to undermine the west and its support of Ukraine’s war effort.
“Nazzaro’s proposed plan to fund the organization of a group inside the US is notable in its timing and substance,” said Lucas Webber, a research fellow and an expert on global terrorism at the Soufan Center who reviewed the post.
Webber made clear the chatter surrounding Nazzaro and his links to Kremlin security services has never been fully disentangled, but his tradecraft is significant.
“While it is difficult to pin down his exact connections to the Russian government, he issued the call at a time when the US government is increasing warnings about foreign election meddling,” he said. “It also comes amidst an upsurge in suspected sabotage incidents in Europe and as French officials are concerned about a potential nexus between Russia and domestic activist and dissident groups.”