Don’t Get Fooled—The Extreme-Right Active Club Network Is Not About Combat Sports
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On 8 December 2023, two alleged members of the Canadian branch of the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) were arrested in Canada. In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said that they participated in the creation of Terrorgram Collective manifestos and Atomwaffen Division (AWD) recruiting videos. In 2021, Atomwaffen Division became a listed terrorist entity in Canada. The statement also highlights that many former Atomwaffen Division members joined Active Club Canada, including the two arrestees.
The arguably largest and fastest-growing violent extreme-right network, called Active Clubs, claims to promote political street activism, a cool nationalist lifestyle, and combat sports training for white supremacists. However, it appears that Active Clubs are not really about sports. There is increasing evidence suggesting that the network’s main objective is rather the creation of a shadow militia that can be activated when the need for coordinated violent action on a larger scale arises.
These white supremacists do not seem to expect to engage their enemies only with fists in a ‘Day X’ scenario. Much more likely, their strategy aims to avoid or delay law enforcement interventions by looking significantly less dangerous and less relevant in comparison to other violent extreme-right actors; they are trying to hide in plain sight.
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