Formed: 2018

Disbanded: Group is active.

First Attack: 2019

Last Attack: 2019

Executive Summary

The Base is an accelerationist neo-Nazi militant organization operating mostly in the United States with some activity in Europe. The group’s founder is based in Russia. Organized mostly online as a loose network of cells, the Base anticipates the overthrow of modern society and an ensuing race war. The group’s objective is to establish a white ethno-state in North America, inspired by the separatist projects of other U.S. white supremacist groups, such as the Northwest Front and Aryan Nations. As of January 2021, the Base had successfully carried out acts of vandalism, but its major attacks against human targets were foiled by law enforcement. The group regularly holds offline meet-ups and paramilitary training sessions for its members across the United States. Although this organization’s name appears to be an English translation of “Al Qaeda,” the Base claims no affiliation with the jihadist group. The FBI infiltrated the Base in 2019 and arrested many of its members between late 2019 and early 2020. In January 2020, it was reported that the Base’s founder, a U.S. citizen named Rinaldo Nazzaro, led the group from his residence in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Group Narrative

2018: Early Beginnings

Under the pseudonym “Norman Spear,” Rinaldo Nazzaro founded the Base in July 2018. The group was established to support the creation of a white ethno-state in North America. The Base can be described as an accelerationist neo-Nazi organization, and it foresees the overthrow of modern society and an ensuing race war. The group is most active in the United States, although there have been reports of Base cells and members in several other countries.[1] The group has threatened violence on multiple occasions, but its plots have repeatedly been foiled by U.S. law enforcement.

Prior to founding the Base, Nazzaro worked in the private military and intelligence sector. He reportedly possessed experience supporting U.S. missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.[2] Nazzaro was first allegedly affiliated with Harold Covington’s Northwest Front, a white supremacist group based in the western United States that advocated the establishment of a whites-only ethno-state in the Pacific Northwest.[3] In December 2017, Nazzaro began making white supremacist posts online and speaking on far-right podcasts under his “Norma Spear” pseudonym. In these posts and podcases, Nazzaro advocated on behalf of the Northwest Front.[4] Nazzaro has said that Northwest Front leader Covington inspired him to start the Base. According to Nazzaro, he arranged to have dinner with Covington during the summer of 2018, but the white supremacist leader never showed up at the restaurant.[5] Nazzaro notified the Northwest Front’s second-in-command, who later found Covington dead at his home.[6] After Covington’s death, Nazzaro says that he gave up on the Northwest Front and decided to start his own organization.[7]

Throughout summer 2018, Nazzaro focused on recruiting members to the Base. Seeking to attract disparate neo-Nazis and white supremacists from across the internet, he began posting messages on social media, particularly on Twitter and Gab.[8] In November 2018, anti-fascist (also known as “antifa”) activists infiltrated the Base’s chats and revealed the identities of some group members. This security breach led the Base to adopt more stringent recruiting protocols and move its communications to Wire, an encrypted messaging platform.[9] As the Base grew, Nazzaro screened members closely, evaluating prospective recruits for personal background, ideological affinity for the group (particularly knowledge of James Mason’s accelerationist work SIEGE), and weapons skills.[10] Only after passing muster would new members be admitted to the group’s private encrypted chatroom.[11] By the end of 2018, the Base boasted of about 50 members.[12]

As he expanded the membership of his organization, Nazzaro took action to realize his ambitions of a white supremacist ethno-state. In December 2018, under the company “Base Global, LLC,” he purchased 30 acres of undeveloped land in rural Ferry County, Washington, near the Canadian border.[13] Nazzaro bought the property after finding it online, telling the listing agent that he wanted the land for his future retirement.[14]  It appears that Nazzaro did not visit Ferry County either before or after the purchase.[15] Local news media have investigated rumors that the Base planned to use the land for training, but there is no evidence that the group actually did so.[16] Nazzaro also reportedly owned property in Russia, and he allegedly moved there with his wife, who was born in Russia, and children around the time he established the Base. He continued to manage the organization from his home abroad.[17]

2019: Continued Recruiting and Paramilitary Training

The Base has sought to recruit individuals with military experience.[18] The most high-profile veteran to join the organization was a Canadian Army officer. In August 2019, a reporter with the Winnipeg Free Press infiltrated the Base and exposed Canadian Army Reserve Master Cpl. Patrik Mathews as a member of the organization. Days later, he was discharged from the Canadian armed forces and was reported missing from his home in Manitoba.[19] His truck was found about 10 miles from the Canadian border with Minnesota, fueling speculation that he crossed into the United States on foot.[20] Minnesota reportedly hosts a Base cell.[21] VICE News reported that the Base assisted Mathews in his illegal border crossing and kept him in hiding.[22] Between August 2019 and Mathews’ arrest by U.S. authorities in January 2020, Base members shuttled him across multiple locations in the United States, including Michigan, Delaware, Maryland, and Georgia.[23]

Over the course of 2019, the Base developed a paramilitary training program for its members. Across the United States, cells hosted meet ups for instruction in tactical skills, including firearms and explosives. These events are known as “hate camps.” The hate camps concept was originally developed by the Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a violent neo-Nazi white supremacist organization with cells in the United States and ties to the Base.[24] A profile of Atomwaffen Division (known as National Socialist Order after August 2020), is available from the Mapping Militants Project. In August 2019, Base founder Nazzaro traveled to the United States from Russia and personally led a training camp in rural Pennsylvania.[25] In October, Mathews, an expert in weapons and explosives, provided paramilitary instruction to Base militants in Georgia.[26]

As the Base developed its US paramilitary training program, the group also considered sending foreign fighters to participate in the conflict in Ukraine. Since 2014, the Ukrainian government has fought Russian-backed separatists for control of the eastern region of the country. Both sides have attracted white supremacist foreign fighters. In a leaked phone call from autumn 2019, Nazzaro raised the possibility of Base militants joining the conflict in order to gain military experience to apply to the group’s US operations.[27] One group member, 20-year-old Matthew Ryan Burchfield of Virginia, admitted to traveling to Ukraine to professionalize his combat skills.[28] A Georgia prosecutor has accused him taking up arms on behalf of the Right Sector, a far-right Ukrainian paramilitary organization.[29] No charges have been filed. As of early 2020, Burchfield claimed to be in Slovakia.[30] Burchfield has denied involvement with the Right Sector, denounced the Base, and said that his travels to Ukraine were not related to his membership in the Base.[31]

In September 2019, the Base executed its first and only (as of January 2021) successful operation in the United States. Base member Richard Tobin, an 18-year-old from New Jersey, organized a campaign of vandalism against Midwestern synagogues. No one was physically harmed during the operation. The vandalism was carried out by members of the organization’s “Great Lakes cell.”[32] In an operation called “Operation Kristallnacht” – a reference to the 1938 Nazi-perpetrated night of violence against German Jews – Tobin allegedly ordered fellow Base members to “vandalize minority-owned properties.”[33] On September 22, 2019, an unknown assailant spray-painted swastikas and the logo of the Base on the façade of Temple Jacob, a historic synagogue located in Michigan’s upper peninsula.[34] The perpetrator has not been identified. The next day, Base member Yousef O. Barasneh defaced Beth Israel Sinai Congregation, a synagogue in Racine, Wisconsin, with an anti-Semitic message, a swastika, and a Base logo.[35] Barasneh is known to have coordinated the attack online with other members of the Base.[36] A month after the vandalism, he attended the Base’s October 2019 training weekend in Georgia.[37]

In October 2019, two men based in Michigan launched a plan to intimidate Daniel Harper, host of the antifa podcast “I don’t speak German.” Justen Watkins, who would later emerge as the self-proclaimed leader of the Base, and Alfred Gorman mailed threats to a home believed to be Harper’s residence. The pair also posed for pictures outside the house while dressed in Nazi paraphernalia, which they posted online with threatening messages.[38] The address was actually the home of an unrelated family.[39]

That same month, Alexander Holmberg and Zeke Blomquist, Swedish members of the Base and the Green Brigade, burned down several buildings on a mink farm in rural Sweden.[40] The Green Brigade is an eco-fascist affiliate of the Base that operates mostly online. Founded sometime in 2019, the Green Brigade was formally tied to the Base by October of that year.[41] The Green Brigade claimed responsibility for the arson in a video posted on iFunny, a meme-sharing website frequently used by right-wing extremists.[42] The arsonists reportedly had originally planned to free the minks living in captivity on the farm but chose to set the fire after failing to find any minks.

In addition to these provocative threats and acts of vandalism, members of the Base also began to practice Satanism around this time. Over Halloween weekend in October 2019, three members took a break from campaign and firearms drills to participate in an occult ritual.[43] William Bilbrough IV – who was later arrested in January 2020 – and two anonymous comrades stole a ram from a local farm. Members of the Base sacrificed the animal, drank its blood, took LSD, and posed with the ram’s head for a propaganda photo.[44] The Base is not alone in invoking Satanism. The occult has found an ideological home in several other neo-Nazi groups, such as the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) and the Order of Nine Angles.

Late 2019-Early 2020: Increasing Counterterrorism Pressure Degrades the Base

As the Base ramped up its activities throughout 2019, U.S. law enforcement began targeting members for prosecution. In July 2019, an undercover FBI agent infiltrated the Base’s Georgia cell and participated in group meet-ups and training.[45] That year, a high-ranking member of the Base became an FBI informant in the Bureau’s ongoing investigation into the Base as well.[46]

In November 2019, U.S. law enforcement executed the first in what would soon become a nationwide sweep of actions targeting Base members. FBI agents arrested Richard Tobin, organizer of “Operation Kristallnacht,” who confessed to his involvement with the Base.[47] Tobin was charged with conspiring against the rights of minorities and was denied bail.[48]

A larger wave of arrests followed in January 2020.  In one week, the FBI foiled two major planned attacks. Prosecutors ultimately charged seven members of the Base from cells in Georgia, Delaware, and Wisconsin. On January 16, 2020, the FBI arrested three members of the Base for allegedly plotting to instigate a nationwide race war. Three Base members – Brian Lemley, Jr. and William Garfield Bilbrough IV, both based in Maryland, and Patrik Jordan Mathews, a Canadian citizen – planned to exploit a gun rights rally planned for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Richmond, Virginia.[49]

The Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-Second Amendment group, organized the rally in opposition to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed gun control legislation. Far-right militias and white supremacist groups were expected to be in attendance.[50] According to federal surveillance, Mathews suggested that the group carry out acts such as derailing trains and blocking highways in order to foment instability.[51] In an apartment the men occupied, authorities found Base propaganda, empty rifle cases, and bags containing military-style Meals-Ready-to-Eat, knives, and assault rifle components.[52] According to the FBI, the three Base members had also practiced their firearms skills at local shooting ranges in the weeks before being arrested.[53] All three men were charged with federal firearms offenses. In addition, Lemley and Bilbrough were charged with transporting and harboring an illegal alien (Mathews, who entered the United States illegally from Canada).[54]

The next day, January 17, Yousef O. Barasneh was arrested for the September 2019 vandalism of a synagogue in Racine, Wisconsin. Baransneh is a native of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, a nearby town. He was charged with conspiring to violate citizens’ rights to use property free from threats and intimidation.[55] Barasneh pleaded guilty in July 2020.[56]

That same day, the FBI arrested three members of the Base’s Georgia cell. Luke Austin Lane, Jacob Kaderli, and Michael John Helterbrand, all between 19 and 25 years old, were taken into custody and charged with conspiracy to commit murder and being members of a criminal gang.[57] The men had plotted to murder a married couple active in Georgia’s anti-fascist (or “antifa”) movement and burn down their house in retaliation for exposing the identities of white supremacists on the internet. The intended victims, whose names have not been released to the public, were members of a group called Atlanta Antifascists and had no relation to the Base.[58] One of the three Base militants charged in the conspiracy, Luke Austin Lane, has been accused of leading an internal unit intended to serve as a “hit squad” for the group.[59]

That same month, the news media unmasked Nazzaro as the founder and leader of the Base. He had previously operated anonymously under the pseudonyms Norman Spear and Roman Wolf. In separate investigations published within hours of each other on January 23 and January 24, 2020, the Guardian and BBC News publicized details of Nazzaro’s identity, including his career, education, and his move from the United States to Russia in 2018.[60]

After the FBI’s wave of arrests and the reveal of Nazzaro’s identity, the Base ceased public operations, and Nazzaro, a one-time prolific social media user, stopped posting.[61] According to sources within the group interviewed by VICE News, Nazzaro decided to lay low and shared key passwords and digital records with other members of the group to allow the Base to continue.[62] An unknown Base member then used this access to post insulting memes across the Base’s public Internet channels, after which the organization deleted its internal chats and went offline.[63] The Green Brigade, the Base’s eco-fascist affiliate, went defunct around this time.[64]

Shortly after Nazzaro went underground, a leader of the Base’s Michigan cell, Justen Watkins, proclaimed himself to be Nazzaro’s replacement. In a post to the organization’s members, Watkins claimed that Nazzaro selected him as the next leader of the Base.[65] This claim has not been independently verified. Watkins is based in Bad Axe, a Michigan town about 100 miles north of Detroit, where he allegedly hosted a “hate camp” that provided firearms and tactical training to Base militants.[66] Tristan Webb, a member of the Base, made a rural family homestead available to serve as the headquarters for the group’s cell in Huron County, Michigan.[67] Watkins allegedly moved there in early 2020. In October 2020, he and Base member Alfred Gorman were arrested by the FBI and charged with several state felonies, including gang membership, using a computer to commit a crime, and unlawful posting of a message.[68] In a raid on Watkins’s home, the FBI found 15 guns and extremist material.[69] Sunita Doddamani, assistant attorney general of Michigan, described Watkins and Gordon as the “last vestiges” of a weakened organization.[70]

That same month, two men were arrested in the Netherlands under suspicion of “right-wing extremist incitement and crimes with a terrorist aim” and alleged affiliation with the Base.[71] This event suggests that, even as U.S. authorities cracked down on the Base, the organization remained active in Europe.

In early November 2020, Nazzaro ended nearly a year of public silence by participating in an interview with Russia-24, a state-owned television channel. During a segment on the 2020 U.S. elections and the antifa movement, Nazzaro denied claims of ties to Russian intelligence services, refuted characterizations of the Base as a terrorist group, and cast doubt on the Holocaust.[72] Nazzaro appeared on camera with his daughters, insisting that he was “a family man, first and foremost” and describing the Base’s mission as self-defense.[73] Since returning to public life, Nazzaro has continued to speak to the media as a leader of the Base. It is unclear whether he, Watkins, or both are in control of the group.

In February 2021, the Canadian Department of Public Safety designated the Base as a terrorist entity.[74] In response to this decision, Nazzaro claimed that the Base was merely a “survivalism and self-defense network for nationalists” and stated that the Base remained active in Canada.[75]

[1] “The Base.” Anti-Defamation League. 2020. https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/the-base

[2] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Leader Said to Have Worked with U.S. Special Forces.” VICE News. September 24, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/k7qdzv/neo-nazi-terror-leader-said-t…

[3] Wilson, Jason. “Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group.” The Guardian. January 23, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/revealed-the-true-identit…

[4] Wallace, Benjamin. “The Prep School Nazi.” New York Magazine. March 30, 2020. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-base-norman…

[5] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[6] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[7] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[8] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[9] Wilson, Jason. “Prepping for a race war: documents reveal inner workings of neo-Nazi group.” The Guardian. January 25, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/25/inside-the-base-neo-nazi-…

[10] De Simone, Daniel and Ali Winston. “Neo-Nazi militant group grooms teenagers.” BBC News. June 22, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53128169. Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[11] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[12] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[13] Wilson, Jason. “Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group.” The Guardian. January 23, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/revealed-the-true-identit…

[14] Wallace, Benjamin. “The Prep School Nazi.” New York Magazine. March 30, 2020. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-base-norman…

[15] Wallace, Benjamin. “The Prep School Nazi.” New York Magazine. March 30, 2020. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-base-norman…

[16] Carroll, Megan. “Investigation reveals that leader of neo-Nazi group 'The Base' owns land in Ferry County.” KREM. January 24, 2020. https://www.krem.com/article/news/local/the-base-leaders-owns-land-in-w…

[17] Wilson, Jason. “Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group.” The Guardian. January 23, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/revealed-the-true-identit…. De Simone, Daniel, Andrei Soshnikov, and Ali Winston. “Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia.” BBC News. January 24, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915. Wallace, Benjamin. “The Prep School Nazi.” New York Magazine. March 30, 2020. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-base-norman…

[18] “The Base.” Southern Poverty Law Center. 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/base

[19] Breen, Kerri and Andrew Russell. “Army reservist allegedly linked to neo-Nazi group reported missing.” Global News. August 28, 2019. https://globalnews.ca/news/5825442/patrik-mathews-missing-neo-nazi/

[20] Weill, Kelly. “Missing Canadian Bomb Expert With Neo-Nazi Ties May Be in U.S.” The Daily Beast. October 30, 2019. https://www.thedailybeast.com/patrik-mathews-missing-canadian-bomb-expe…

[21] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Police Warn that Accused Neo-Nazi Canadian Soldier Could Have Fled to U.S.” VICE News. September 6, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en/article/ne8ejx/police-warn-that-accused-neo-naz…

[22] Makuch, Ben, Mack Lamoureux, and Zachary Kamel. “Neo-Nazi Terror Group Harbouring Missing Ex-Soldier: Sources.” VICE News. December 5, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en/article/8xwwaa/neo-nazi-terror-group-harbouring…

[23] “The Base.” Southern Poverty Law Center. 2020. https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/base

[24] Lamoureux, Mack and Ben Makuch. “Militant Neo-Nazi Group Actively Recruiting Ahead of Alleged Training Camp.” VICE News. August 16, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/bjwx55/militant-neo-nazi-group-activ…

[25] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[26] Makuch, Ben, Mack Lamoureux, and Zachary Kamel. “Neo-Nazi Terror Group Harbouring Missing Ex-Soldier: Sources.” VICE News. December 5, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en/article/8xwwaa/neo-nazi-terror-group-harbouring…

[27] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Group the Base Discussed Training Pipeline to Ukraine War.” VICE News. October 15, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgqex8/neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-d…

[28] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Group The Base Linked to the War in Ukraine.” VICE News. February 6, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3m3eg/neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-l…

[29] Redmon, Jeremy. “Prosecutor: Alleged Georgia white supremacists planned to kill others.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. February 23, 2020. https://www.ajc.com/news/breaking-news/prosecutor-alleged-georgia-white…

[30] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Group The Base Linked to the War in Ukraine.” VICE News. February 6, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3m3eg/neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-l…

[31] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Group the Base Discussed Training Pipeline to Ukraine War.” VICE News. October 15, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgqex8/neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-d…

[32] Lamoureux, Mack and Ben Makuch. “Man Arrested for Synagogue Vandalism Was Active in Two Militant Neo-Nazi Groups.” VICE News. November 20, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/
pa75jk/man-arrested-for-synagogue-vandalism-was-active-in-two-militant-neo-nazi-groups

[33] Lamoureux, Mack and Ben Makuch. “Man Arrested for Synagogue Vandalism Was Active in Two Militant Neo-Nazi Groups.” VICE News. November 20, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/
pa75jk/man-arrested-for-synagogue-vandalism-was-active-in-two-militant-neo-nazi-groups

[34] Lofton, Justine. “Vandals paint Nazi swastikas on Northern Michigan synagogue.” Michiganlive.com. September 23, 2019. https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/09/vandals-paint-nazi-swastikas-on-nort…

[35] Rogan, Adam. “Graffiti found on Racine synagogue; several anti-Semitic vandalism incidents reported nationwide over weekend.” The Journal Times. September 23, 2019. https://journaltimes.com/news
/local/crime-and-courts/graffiti-found-on-racine-synagogue-several-anti-semitic-vandalism-incidents-reported-nationwide-over-weekend/article_45092379-e7e4-5d6f-a62e-7dd91eb13836.html. Carson, Sophie. “Oak Creek man pleads guilty to Racine synagogue vandalism as part of neo-Nazi group's plot to target Jewish population.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. July 17, 2020. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2020/07/17/racine-synagogue-v…

[36] Carson, Sophie. “Oak Creek man pleads guilty to Racine synagogue vandalism as part of neo-Nazi group's plot to target Jewish population.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. July 17, 2020. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2020/07/17/racine-synagogue-v…

[37] Carson, Sophie. “Oak Creek man pleads guilty to Racine synagogue vandalism as part of neo-Nazi group's plot to target Jewish population.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. July 17, 2020. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2020/07/17/racine-synagogue-v…

[38] Weill, Kelly and Spencer Ackerman. “Neo-Nazis Who Targeted Podcaster and Terrorized Random Family Busted in MI: Cops.” The Daily Beast. October 29, 2020. https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-supremacist-group-the-base-members-…. Snell, Robert and Beth LeBlanc. “FBI arrests white supremacy leader in extremism crackdown in Michigan.” The Detroit News. October 29, 2020. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/29/fbi-ar…

[39] Bogel-Burroughs, Nicholas. “F.B.I. Arrests Michigan Men Tied to White Supremacist Group.” The New York Times. October 29, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/us/fbi-arrests-the-base-michigan.html

[40] Kamel, Zachary, Mack Lamoureux, and Ben Makuch. “'Eco-fascist' Arm of Neo-Nazi Terror Group, The Base, Linked to Swedish Arson.” VICE News. January 29, 2020. https://www.vice.com
/en/article/qjdvzx/eco-fascist-arm-of-neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-linked-to-swedish-arson. Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “Alleged Eco-Terrorists Discussed Abortion Clinic Bombing, Assassinating Judge: Court Documents.” VICE News. December 14, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article
/g5bjqm/alleged-eco-terrorists-discussed-abortion-clinic-bombing-assassinating-judge-court-documents

[41] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “Alleged Eco-Terrorists Discussed Abortion Clinic Bombing, Assassinating Judge: Court Documents.” VICE News. December 14, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5bjqm/alleged-eco-terrorists-discussed…

[42] Kamel, Zachary, Mack Lamoureux, and Ben Makuch. “'Eco-fascist' Arm of Neo-Nazi Terror Group, The Base, Linked to Swedish Arson.” VICE News. January 29, 2020. https://www.vice.com
/en/article/qjdvzx/eco-fascist-arm-of-neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-linked-to-swedish-arson.

[43] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Memoir Describes Terror Group’s Acid-Soaked Ram Sacrifice.” VICE News. June 24, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/z3e3ew/neo-nazi-memoir-describes-ter…

[44] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Memoir Describes Terror Group’s Acid-Soaked Ram Sacrifice.” VICE News. June 24, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/z3e3ew/neo-nazi-memoir-describes-ter…

[45] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Memoir Describes Terror Group’s Acid-Soaked Ram Sacrifice.” VICE News. June 24, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/z3e3ew/neo-nazi-memoir-describes-ter…

[46] Carson, Sophie. “Oak Creek man pleads guilty to Racine synagogue vandalism as part of neo-Nazi group's plot to target Jewish population.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. July 17, 2020. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2020/07/17/racine-synagogue-v…

[47] Roebuck, Jeremy. “South Jersey man accused in synagogue vandalisms, revealing dark network of neo-Nazi organizing online.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 15, 2019. https://www.inquirer.com/news
/richard-tobin-synagogue-vandalism-the-base-white-supremacist-racine-wisconsin-hancock-michigan-20191115.html

[48] Brandt, Joe. “Judge denies bail to N.J. teen accused of inciting synagogue vandalism, plotting attack on African American shoppers.” NJ.com. December 9, 2019. https://www.nj.com/camden/2019/12/judge-denies-bail-to-nj-teen-accused-…

[49] Williams, Timothy, Adam Goldman, and Neil MacFarquhar. “Virginia Capital on Edge as F.B.I. Arrests Suspected Neo-Nazis Before Gun Rally.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/us/fbi-arrest-virginia-gun-rally.html

[50] Williams, Timothy, Adam Goldman, and Neil MacFarquhar. “Virginia Capital on Edge as F.B.I. Arrests Suspected Neo-Nazis Before Gun Rally.” The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/16/us/fbi-arrest-virginia-gun-rally.html

[51] Hellgren, Mike. “Judge: Canadian Man Tied To Extremist Group Is ‘Very Dangerous.’” CBS Baltimore. January 22, 2020. https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2020/01/22/alleged-white-supremacists-br…

[52] Duggan, Paul. “Alleged white supremacists planned deadly violence at Richmond gun rally, federal prosecutors say.” The Washington Post. January 21, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/alleged-white-suprem…

[53] Duggan, Paul. “Alleged white supremacists planned deadly violence at Richmond gun rally, federal prosecutors say.” The Washington Post. January 21, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/alleged-white-suprem…

[54] Duggan, Paul. “Alleged white supremacists planned deadly violence at Richmond gun rally, federal prosecutors say.” The Washington Post. January 21, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/alleged-white-suprem…

[55] Luthern, Ashley and Bruce Vielmetti. “Oak Creek man, alleged member of neo-Nazi group 'The Base,' charged with vandalizing Racine synagogue.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. January 17, 2020. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/17/alleged-member-neo…

[56] Carson, Sophie. “Oak Creek man pleads guilty to Racine synagogue vandalism as part of neo-Nazi group's plot to target Jewish population.” Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. July 17, 2020. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2020/07/17/racine-synagogue-v…

[57] Hawkins, Derek and Hannah Knowles. “Alleged members of white supremacy group ‘the Base’ charged with plotting to kill antifa couple.” January 18, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2020/01/18/the-base-wh…

[58] Bailey, John. “Update: Affidavit links former Canadian army extremist to local white nationalist group, target of murder plot was Bartow County couple.” Rome News-Tribune. January 17, 2020. https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/local/update-affidavit-l…

[59] Lamoureux, Mack. “FBI Arrests Members of Neo-Nazi Cell Whose Plot to Murder Antifa Couple Was Foiled by a Bad Back.” VICE News. January 17, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akwvpj/fbi-arrests-members-of-neo-na…

[60] Wilson, Jason. “Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group.” The Guardian. January 23, 2020. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/revealed-the-true-identit…. De Simone, Daniel, Andrei Soshnikov, and Ali Winston. “Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia.” BBC News. January 24, 2020. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915

[61] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Memoir Describes Terror Group’s Acid-Soaked Ram Sacrifice.” VICE News. June 24, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/z3e3ew/neo-nazi-memoir-describes-ter…

[62] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[63] Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “How One Man Built a Neo-Nazi Insurgency in Trump's America.” VICE News. October 7, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7g9kb/how-one-man-built-a-neo-nazi-ins…

[64] Lamoureux, Mack. “Neo-Nazis Are Using Eco-Fascism to Recruit Young People.” VICE News. September 25, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/wxqmey/neo-nazis-eco-fascism-climate-ch…

[65] Weill, Kelly and Spencer Ackerman. “Neo-Nazis Who Targeted Podcaster and Terrorized Random Family Busted in MI: Cops.” The Daily Beast. October 29, 2020. https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-supremacist-group-the-base-members-…

[66] Weill, Kelly and Spencer Ackerman. “Neo-Nazis Who Targeted Podcaster and Terrorized Random Family Busted in MI: Cops.” The Daily Beast. October 29, 2020. https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-supremacist-group-the-base-members-…

[67] Nunn, Scott. “Establishing The Base in Michigan.” The Pioneer. November 16, 2020. https://www.bigrapidsnews.com/insider/article/Establishing-The-Base-in-…

[68] Snell, Robert and Beth LeBlanc. “FBI arrests white supremacy leader in extremism crackdown in Michigan.” The Detroit News. October 29, 2020. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news
/local/michigan/2020/10/29/fbi-arrests-accused-neo-nazis-michigan-crackdown-extremism/6067038002/

[69] Snell, Robert. “Accused neo-Nazi leader had manifesto, wanted race war, prosecutors say.” The Detroit News. October 30, 2020. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/30/accuse…

[70] Snell, Robert. “Accused neo-Nazi leader had manifesto, wanted race war, prosecutors say.” The Detroit News. October 30, 2020. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/30/accuse…

[71] Rosman, Cyril. “Jonge rechts-extremisten opgepakt vanwege terreurverdenking, zijn lid van beruchte neo-nazigroep.” AD.nl. October 30, 2020. https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/jonge-rechts-extremisten-opgepakt-vanwege-…

[72] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Leader on Russian TV: ‘I'm a Family Man.’” VICE News. November 5, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzxzq/rinaldo-nazzaro-neo-nazi-terror-…

[73] Makuch, Ben and Mack Lamoureux. “Neo-Nazi Terror Leader on Russian TV: ‘I'm a Family Man.’” VICE News. November 5, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgzxzq/rinaldo-nazzaro-neo-nazi-terror-…

[74] “Government of Canada lists 13 new groups as terrorist entities and completes review of seven others.” Government of Canada. February 3, 2021. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2021/02/government-o…

[75] Lamoureux, Mack and Ben Makuch. “Canada Designates Proud Boys, Atomwaffen, and The Base as Terror Organizations.” VICE News. February 3, 2021. https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3vkxy/canada-designates-proud-boys-ato…

Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.

The Base has not successfully carried out any violent attacks in the United States, but the group is committed to using violence to achieve its objectives. Plots by group members to murder or harm targeted individuals have been foiled by law enforcement on multiple occasions. For example, the FBI arrested three Base members who were planning to murder a Georgia couple associated with the antifascist movement and burn down their house.[1]  Additionally, the group has publicly made threats to carry out violence. [2]

In addition, group members have successfully committed acts of vandalism. The group’s most well-known operation was a multi-day campaign to deface synagogues in Wisconsin and Michigan.

September 21-22, 2019: Base member Richard Tobin, an 18-year-old based in New Jersey, organized a campaign of vandalism against Midwestern synagogues. Members of the Base’s “Great Lakes cell” defaced synagogues in Racine, Wisconsin and Hancock, Michigan with swastikas, anti-Semitic language, and the group’s logo.[3]

October 30, 2019: Two young Swedish men with ties to the Base and the Green Brigade, a Base-affiliated eco-fascist group, burned down several buildings on a mink farm in rural Sweden in what authorities describe as arson (no casualties).[4]

[1] Lamoureux, Mack. “FBI Arrests Members of Neo-Nazi Cell Whose Plot to Murder Antifa Couple Was Foiled by a Bad Back.” VICE News. January 17, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/akwvpj/fbi-arrests-members-of-neo-na…

[2] Weill, Kelly and Spencer Ackerman. “Neo-Nazis Who Targeted Podcaster and Terrorized Random Family Busted in MI: Cops.” The Daily Beast. October 29, 2020. https://www.thedailybeast.com/white-supremacist-group-the-base-members-…. Snell, Robert and Beth LeBlanc. “FBI arrests white supremacy leader in extremism crackdown in Michigan.” The Detroit News. October 29, 2020. https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/10/29/fbi-ar…

[3] Lamoureux, Mack and Ben Makuch. “Man Arrested for Synagogue Vandalism Was Active in Two Militant Neo-Nazi Groups.” VICE News. November 20, 2019. https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/
pa75jk/man-arrested-for-synagogue-vandalism-was-active-in-two-militant-neo-nazi-groups. MacFarquhar, Neil and Adam Goldman. “A New Face of White Supremacy: Plots Expose Danger of the ‘Base.’” The New York Times. January 22, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/us/white-supremacy-the-base.html. Bandler, Aaron. “Anti-Semitic Graffiti Found on Wisconsin Synagogue.” Jewish Journal. September 25, 2019. https://jewishjournal.com/news/united-states/305037/anti-semitic-graffi…. Lofton, Justine. “Vandals paint Nazi swastikas on Northern Michigan synagogue.” Michiganlive.com. September 23, 2019. https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/09/vandals-paint-nazi-swastikas-on-nort…

[4] Kamel, Zachary, Mack Lamoureux, and Ben Makuch. “'Eco-fascist' Arm of Neo-Nazi Terror Group, The Base, Linked to Swedish Arson.” VICE News. January 29, 2020. https://www.vice.com
/en/article/qjdvzx/eco-fascist-arm-of-neo-nazi-terror-group-the-base-linked-to-swedish-arson. Lamoureux, Mack, Ben Makuch, and Zachary Kamel. “Alleged Eco-Terrorists Discussed Abortion Clinic Bombing, Assassinating Judge: Court Documents.” VICE News. December 14, 2020. https://www.vice.com/en/article
/g5bjqm/alleged-eco-terrorists-discussed-abortion-clinic-bombing-assassinating-judge-court-documents