Inside the ‘fight night’ white supremacist groups preparing for global race war

 

A hateful white supremacist network with a ‘fight club’ ethos is spreading across the US and around the world, new research shows.

Neo-Nazi Active Clubs are said to be one of the fastest-growing extreme-right groups in America and are also present in the UK and Europe.

The branches outwardly promote mixed martial arts (MMA) training and ‘brotherhood’ while preparing members for a race war against their perceived enemies, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Collaboration between a long list of clubs in the US and the UK and Europe is evident in online communications seen by the Metro.

One branch in London is among those which have been active over the new year period, with members shown participating in MMA training. 

The extreme-right movement is said to be undertaking combat training to prepare for ‘Day X’ — a power struggle with other groups.   

Morgan Lynn Moon, an investigative researcher at the ADL, told Metro: ‘Active Clubs continue to be one of the fastest growing segments in the white supremacist movement in the United States.

‘Since January 2021, Active Clubs have continued to spread and currently maintain a presence in 36 US states and have multiple chapters abroad, including Estonia, Scotland, Germany, France, Norway, Finland and more.

‘These Active Club chapters continue to engage in on-the-ground activity, distributing propaganda, organising a range of demonstrations and hosting large-scale fight nights across the United States.’ 

The ADL began tracking European Active Clubs in 2022, finding them to be ‘closely connected’ to longer established branches in the US. 

Some of the extremists have overlapping membership of white supremacist groups, with members in the US taking part in demonstrations and travelling to Europe to participate in related activities.

Branches worldwide, including in the UK and Northern Ireland, are capitalising on the popularity of MMA as well as organising group outings and social events. In the UK, Active Club England has a handful of regional branches openly posting content on Telegram.

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