Latest news with #neoNazi
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Wolves in sheep's clothing': how a neo-Nazi cell infiltrated a martial arts school in Tennessee
A neo-Nazi fight club that secretly infiltrated a Tennessee martial arts school where young children train has been banned from the facility, after an inquiry by the Guardian. Last month, the South Central Tennessee Active Club published video footage on the messaging app Telegram showing its members participating in combat training at Shelbyville BJJ Academy, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu school in Shelbyville, Tennessee, that offers classes to students as young as three years old. The group is part of the wider Active Club network, which consists of dozens of decentralized cells across the US and abroad that use combat sports to lure people into white nationalist and neo-Nazi causes. While lesser known than other far-right groups like the Proud Boys, experts warn Active Clubs are acutely dangerous because they recruit boys and young men into violent white nationalist circles by using notions of fraternity as a gateway to extremism. 'What makes them unique is the 'wolves in sheep's clothing' approach, which aims at fooling law enforcement into believing Active Clubs are just about sports,' Alexander Ritzmann, a political scientist and senior advisor at the Counter Extremism Project who studies the movement, told the Guardian. In a 2023 report, Ritzmann warned that the ultimate goal of Active Clubs 'is the creation of a stand-by militia of trained and capable [right wing extremists] who can be activated when the need for coordinated violent action on a larger scale arises'. At one point in the video posted by the Tennessee cell, an Active Club flag featuring a sonnenrad, a symbol of Nazi Germany that has been adopted by neo-Nazis and other far-right extremists, can be seen hanging on the wall where young children would normally gather. After it was presented with the video of the Active Club training at its facilities, Shelbyville BJJ Academy told the Guardian 'that type of behavior at our gym is a direct violation of our code of ethics and goes against our community offering as a safe place for children and adults. 'The situation has been remedied promptly and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention,' the school continued, in a statement. 'We can assure you, this will not be happening again. Ever.' The academy also rejected the Active Club's extremist ideology, emphasizing: 'We accept and welcome all people. We all belong. No matter background, skin color, creed, nationality, or status.' As for how the group gained entry, the school said it provides keypad access to members so they can train outside regular class hours. It believes the Active Club entered using this method and said the access code has been changed. While the South Central Tennessee Active Club blurred the faces of most of its members shown in the video taken at Shelbyville BJJ Academy, the face of one man was left uncensored. His name: William Chase May. Records on Smoothcomp, a software used to organize and record combat sports events, show he was awarded his blue belt by Shelbyville BJJ Academy in 2023. The school confirmed that May was a member, though said his attendance was infrequent and that he only showed up from 'time to time'. He was banned after the Guardian brought his identity to its attention and, the academy said, an internal investigation into whether any other members made unauthorized use of the facility is ongoing. Riztmann told the Guardian that the Active Club's presence at the Tennessee academy is especially concerning because the movement's architect, the white supremacist Robert Rundo 'laid out the principle recruiting strategy, which includes reaching out to minors at schools'. In April, the Guardian reported on Telegram accounts which showed many Active Clubs in the US had participants between the ages of 16 and 18. Multiple images posted to the Google reviews page of Shelbyville BJJ by May, under the alias 'Chase Odinson' show he had trained and interacted with young children at the school as far back as 2023. May viewed a request for comment sent to him on Telegram by the Guardian, but did not reply. Images of the Active Club chapter training at the Shelbyville school were first discovered in September by a pseudonymous independent researcher who tracks Tennessee Active Clubs, according to chat logs they shared with the Guardian. In December, they began posting some of their findings on the social media network Bluesky, where they use the alias Inteltwink. 'It was through Chase May that I identified Shelbyville BJJ,' they told the Guardian, adding that they identified him after they 'infiltrated TAC's private telegram chat'. While it is unclear how frequently or for how long the Active Club used the school's facilities, the latest video confirms the group was sharing documentation of its activities there for months. The seat of Bedford County, Shelbyville is a city of 23,000 located 50 miles southeast of Nashville, the state capital. Tennessee has been identified in recent years by researchers and journalists as a hotbed for violent white nationalist activity. In 2023, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) revealed a statewide Tennessee Active Club was holding networking events and fight clubs at a Nashville area general store owned by a self-declared 'actual literal Nazi'. Last month, the SPLC reported that the statewide Active Club was being secretly controlled by the Patriot Front, a racist and neo-fascist hate group. In March, News Channel 5 reported Patriot Front had established a 122-acre compound in Tellico Plains. And, last fall, the Daily Beast reported that one of the men Channel 5 identified as a leader of that compound, Ian Elliott, had infiltrated another child-friendly Tennessee grappling school in Athens (the school kicked him out). Meanwhile May, who was part of the Active Club that infiltrated Shelbyville school, appears to be acquaintances with Elliott. An image he posted to his personal Telegram account on 26 October 2024 shows him and the Patriot Front leader posing alongside a third man whose face is obscured with a sonnenrad.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Neo-Nazi paedophile facing more jail time over gunpowder manual
A neo-Nazi paedophile who was locked up 17 years ago after being caught with a stash of nail bombs is facing more jail time after admitting having a gunpowder manual. White-supremacist Martyn Gilleard, 48, of Armley, Leeds, was jailed in 2008 for 12 years for terrorism offences and having indecent images, and was released in 2023. On Friday, he appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to a single count of collection of material likely to be of use to a terrorist. The charge said that on or before May 28, the defendant, who also goes by the name Martyn Stone, collected information on the manufacture of explosive black powder, known as gunpowder. The grey-haired and bearded defendant entered his plea by video-link from Leeds jail. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb set a sentencing date at Leeds Crown Court for August 22 and remanded Gilleard into custody. The former forklift truck driver Gilleard was previously found guilty of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts and collecting information for terrorist purposes having admitted having indecent images. Police found four nail bombs, bladed weapons, bullets, documents about terrorism and extreme right-wing literature when they searched his flat for indecent images of children in October 2007. Officers uncovered significant volumes of extreme right-wing literature and propaganda from far-right group Combat 18, as well as ammunition, weapons and homemade bombs. A further search by detectives and forensic teams from the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) in Leeds uncovered more explosive material, camouflage clothing, balaclavas, a bomb-making manual and outdoor survival guides. Humberside Police had also discovered around 39,000 indecent images of children including film and photographs. A search of his workplace found a high-visibility jacket which had been modified with a hand-drawn swastika and Combat 18 lettering, and colleagues told police that he had expressed racist views. Detectives launched a manhunt when the father of one failed to return home after the original search of his flat. He was found three days later 300 miles away in Dundee, Tayside. Gilleard was a member of a number of far-right groups, including the National Front, the British People's Party and the White Nationalist Party. In police interviews, he admitted sympathising with white supremacists and accepted he was racist, but said he had become less racist in recent times. He admitted 10 specimen counts of possessing indecent images of children, and also pleaded guilty to possessing 34 cartridges of ammunition without holding a firearms certificate. In his trial, Gilleard claimed the nail bombs were not intended for serious violence and said he made them when he was bored after drinking 'a couple of cans'. But the prosecution said he intended to use the weapons and documents found in his flat in terrorist acts to further his political cause.
The Guardian
09-06-2025
- The Guardian
UK teenager who killed herself was ‘highly affected' by terrorism arrest, inquest finds
A vulnerable teenage girl who died five months after terrorism charges against her were dropped was 'highly affected' by her arrest but failures in her case were 'not systemic', a coroner has concluded. Rhianan Rudd died at a children's home aged 16 in May 2022, as the result of a self-inflicted act, said the chief coroner of England and Wales, Alexia Durran. Delivering a narrative verdict at Chesterfield town hall on Monday, Durran said: 'In the circumstances I do not consider I should make a prevention of future deaths report. 'I'm not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, Rhianan intended to take her own life. Rhianan's death … was the result of a self-inflicted act but it is not possible to ascertain her intention. 'Rhianan was known, to family and professionals, to be vulnerable, to have autistic traits and have a history of self-harm.' The coroner added: 'I find she was highly affected by her arrest and was concerned about being sent to prison.' It was not known what Rhianan was told by her legal team when the charges were dropped but this may have had a 'psychological impact' on her, the coroner said. When Rhianan was arrested in October 2020, she was so small that no handcuffs would fit on her wrists. Aged 15, she became the youngest girl ever to be charged with terror offences in the UK after being groomed online by an American 'neo-Nazi'. Less than 18 months later, she was found dead at the Bluebell House residential home in Nottinghamshire. Once a 'bubbly, kind and loving' teenager, who loved animals and liked to bake, Rhianan had gradually become quiet and withdrawn. At first she told her mother that it was the coronavirus lockdown that had led to her change in behaviour, but in reality the teenager was being exploited. Rhianan remained under police investigation for more than two years before the charges were dropped, in light of evidence that she had been groomed and sexually exploited. Five months later, she took her own life in a children's home. She had remained under investigation by MI5 until the day she died. Rhianan had been speaking online to Chris Cook, an Ohio-based 28-year-old far-right extremist. Cook, who was later convicted of being part of a terrorist plot, had messaged the then 14-year-old on WhatsApp, sending her links to 'racially motivated, violent extremist books'. Evidence also showed she had been influenced by Dax Mallaburn, her mother Emily Carter's former boyfriend, and a member of the Arizona Aryan Brotherhood, a neo-Nazi group. Carter knew her daughter had been radicalised; she had even referred her to the government's de-radicalisation programme, Prevent, in September 2020, after Rhianan came downstairs and told her she had downloaded a bomb-making manual. 'It was really scary. I knew it had to be done, but it doesn't stop it being scary,' Carter said. 'I was hoping that it was just going to take her two or three times a week to work on her mind, unpick her head, and turn her back into Rhianan, not end up with all these police officers turning up arresting her and pulling my house apart. You don't expect that at all.' At the time of her arrest, Rhianan had a shrine to Adolf Hitler in her bedroom, and described herself as a fascist. She had sent messages on WhatsApp saying she 'wants to kill someone in the school or blow up a Jewish place of worship' and she 'does not care who she kills and nothing matters any more'. The inquest heard police had initially refrained from arresting the teenager as they thought to do so may 'risk some impact on her mental health' and 'could possibly lead to further self-harm and suicide attempts'. But in October 2020, a day after she had been treated in hospital after carving an image of a swastika into her forehead, 19 police officers and three detectives turned up at the family home in Bolsover, Derbyshire, to take her into custody. 'They were going to put her in handcuffs, but the handcuffs didn't go small enough. They just fell off her hands,' Carter said. 'Even on the smallest ones, they just fell off her hands. So they just held her arms and just walked around. That's how small she was.' She added: 'She was 5ft one, weighed seven stone,' she added. 'And she was 15 years old when she said it, she was tiny. I don't know what people thought she could do, but I don't believe that she was ever a threat. It was just what people would put in her head. Brainwashed her, basically.' When she was arrested, Rhianan's engagement with Prevent stopped. During police interviews, Rhianan described being coerced and groomed, telling officers she had sent sexually explicit images of herself to Cook. However, a referral order was only made to the Home Office's national referral mechanism (NRM), which identifies potential victims of human trafficking and modern slavery, in August 2021. 'She was a vulnerable child that was groomed,' Carter said. 'The NRM should have been done at the very beginning, not 10 months into it, and it should have all been put together properly, before you even sit them down at a table and start questioning them. 'She was a child, a vulnerable child, a child with mental health issues. She should have been treated as a victim more than anything.' Durran found there were multiple failures in Rhianan's investigation and care. She said 'the information available constituted a sufficient basis to classify Rhianan as a victim of modern slavery' during her indoctrination into far-right beliefs, and that she should have been referred to the NRM sooner. She added that 'it is arguable that Rhianan not being referred until 2021 is evidence of the systems failure to provide adequate care for her', but said it would be difficult to link these failings to her eventual death and that her arrest was 'reasonable and proportionate in the circumstances'. The coroner's conclusion provided some vindication for Carter, who had always believed her daughter's death was preventable. 'One of the things I've said all the way along the line, I've admitted it to court, I'm not perfect,' she said. 'I've made mistakes, and I want the organisations to put their hands up and admit they've made mistakes and to rectify their mistakes so it doesn't happen again. 'And then that way everybody can be happy, except me, because I've already lost my daughter.' In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@ or jo@ In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at
The Independent
09-06-2025
- The Independent
Opportunities were missed to save teenage terror suspect, says coroner
There were 'missed opportunities' to save a teenage terror suspect who was groomed by a neo-Nazi before her death at a children's home, a coroner has concluded. Chesterfield Coroner's Court heard that Rhianan Rudd, who died aged 16, was charged with terrorism offences and investigated by MI5 after she downloaded a bomb-making manual, said she wanted to 'blow up' a synagogue and carved a swastika onto her forehead. It emerged that Rhianan was a victim of exploitation by a right-wing extremist, but she was pronounced dead on the morning of May 19 2022 at a children's home five months after her charges were discontinued. Concluding the inquest on Monday, chief coroner Judge Alexia Durran said the missed opportunities were 'not systemic', adding she could not be certain that Rhianan intended to take her own life. 'I'm satisfied the missed opportunities in this case are not systemic,' Ms Durran said. 'I'm not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, Rhianan intended to take her own life. Rhianan's death … was the result of a self-inflicted act but it is not possible to ascertain her intention. 'In the circumstances, I do not consider I should make a prevention of future deaths report. 'Rhianan was known, to family and professionals, to be vulnerable, to have autistic traits and have a history of self-harm.' The coroner recorded Rhianan's cause of death as compression of the neck. She added that agencies involved with her had already made changes since she died. Rhianan's inquest, which heard evidence over four weeks in February and March, focused around the involvement of MI5, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the police, social services, NHS trusts responsible for her mental health care and the children's home where she was living. Speaking before the conclusion of the inquest, Rhianan's mother, Emily Carter, said the teenager, who was known to self harm, was a 'vulnerable child' and 'should have been treated as a victim more than anything'. Ms Carter said: 'I don't know what people thought she could do, but I don't believe that she was ever a threat. It was just what people would put in her head – brainwashed her, basically.' The teenager was 'severely impacted' by the police investigation and 'deeply scared' about going to prison as a result of being prosecuted for terrorism, and 'locked away her thoughts and feelings' about the criminal trial. Judge Durran concluded that it was 'necessary and appropriate' to investigate and prosecute Rhianan for terrorism offences. She said: 'While vulnerability is a relevant factor, a difficult balance must be struck between that vulnerability and protecting the public.' The coroner added: 'I find she was highly affected by her arrest and was concerned about being sent to prison.' It was not known what Rhianan was told by her legal team when the charges were dropped but this may have had a 'psychological impact' on her, the coroner said. Judge Durran decided that Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights was not engaged in the inquest, a decision she delayed until after she had heard all the evidence, meaning no breaches of the state's duty to protect life were identified. The inquest conclusion heard that there were missed opportunities by counter terrorism policing East Midlands (CTPEM) and Derbyshire County Council to refer Rhianan to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which identifies victims of modern slavery, earlier. Judge Durran said: 'I find, even at this early stage around November 2020, sufficient information existed for CTPEM or Derbyshire County Council to make an NRM referral.' She said the 'combination of information available' would create a 'sufficient basis' on which to identify Rhianan as a victim of modern slavery. The coroner added that it was not possible to say if Rhianan's charges would have been discontinued earlier or if it would have a 'more than minimal impact on Rhianan's death' if the NRM referral was made sooner. The coroner also found there was a missed opportunity to refer Rhianan to Nottinghamshire Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) when she moved to a children's home in the county. Judge Durran said: 'Derbyshire County Council was responsible for this missed opportunity to refer Rhianan to Nottinghamshire CAMHS. As a result, Rhianan was without CAMHS support for a considerable time – effectively from May 2021 to May 2022. 'I find it was a result of individual decisions or missed opportunities to make a referral in an otherwise functioning system.' The coroner said Rhianan did not have mental health support during a 'particularly challenging and difficult period', including her charges being dropped and the sessions with the deradicalisation programme Prevent. But she said it was 'too speculative' to say whether CAMHS support would have made any difference. The coroner found that Ms Carter's previous partner, who had been in prison and had a swastika tattoo, was a 'significant radicalising influence' on Rhianan. The hearing was told that Rhianan's mother made contact with an American, Dax Mallaburn, who had convictions relating to 'violent organised crime', through a write to prisoners scheme. Mr Mallaburn lived with Ms Carter from November 2017 and had 'links to white supremacist groups', the coroner said. Judge Durran said: 'I'm satisfied it's more likely than not that he played a material role in introducing and encouraging Rhianan's interest in extreme, right-wing materials.' Speaking before the conclusion of the inquest, Ms Carter said: '(Mr Mallaburn) did a lot of work in prison to be deradicalised, if you like. And so when he came out and I met him, he never showed any views.' An American neo-Nazi, whom Rhianan spoke to online and allegedly made her send explicit photos, was also a 'significant radicalising influence', the coroner found. The inquest heard that the CPS charged Rhianan without the 'full evidential picture' of her exploitation in April 2021 after she broke her bail conditions by running away from home to Sheffield. The coroner said Rhianan's placement at Bluebell House Residential Home, after she was charged, was a 'positive development' in her life and the staff 'appropriately met' her needs. Judge Durran said: 'I'm satisfied that professionals working with Rhianan were aware of her autism diagnosis. I'm entirely satisfied (staff at the children's home) were able to communicate with and support Rhianan effectively.' The inquest heard that an MI5 investigation was 'the only way to further understand the threat she might pose to national security'. MI5 investigated the girl from October 2020 until her death but had 'no indication' from intelligence gathered that she had intended to end her own life, an MI5 officer told the inquest. Judge Durran said: 'Rhianan was a talented, funny and complex young person who made a lasting impression on those around her and will be deeply missed.'
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Police allowed convicted Neo-Nazi 'who groomed and radicalised British girl before she was found dead' to leave the UK
A convicted American neo-Nazi was permitted to leave the UK by police despite being known for 'grooming and radicalising' Britain's youngest ever girl to be charged with terror offences. Dax Mallaburn was questioned by counter-terrorism officers at Heathrow Airport having been suspected of encouraging 16-year-old Rhianan Rudd to look at violent material online. Despite such suspicions, the decision was still taken to allow Mallaburn to leave the UK without any further action, the Daily Telegraph has reported. He boarded a flight to the US, where he then travelled on to Mexico, in October 2020. Having been assessed as a 'medium risk of radicalisation' by experts, Rudd was nonetheless later charged by the CPS with six counts of terrorism in April 2021, the youngest individual in British history to ever receive such charges. However, in December 2022, the charges against the vulnerable and autistic schoolgirl were dropped with the Home Office ruling that she had been a victim of grooming. Rudd downloaded guides on how to make a pipe bomb, homemade weapons and guerilla warfare and also scratched a swastika into her forehead. Just five months later, on May 19 2022, she was found dead at a children's home by her carer in Nottinghamshire. During an inquest into the circumstances surrounding Rudd's death, Chesterfield Coroners Court heard that she had began to show signs of far-Right radicalisation after Mallaburn moved into the family home in Bolsover, Derbyshire, with her mother, Emily Carter, in 2017. Mallaburn, who met Ms Carter through an inmate pen-pal scheme, had previously been found by a US Supreme Court ruling to be a member of a neo-Nazi group and had also served prison time in the US for possession of weapons. In 2019, Rudd, then aged 14, complained to Derbyshire County Council social workers, who themselves had suspicions that she was being groomed, that Mallaburn had touched her sexually. However, when police later visited Rudd at her home address, she retracted the allegations. Just days before she took her own life, the teen told a counter-terrorism official that Mallaburn, who she described as a 'literal Nazi' was explaining to her what 'really happened' during the Second World War. Mallaburn also introduced the impressionable teenager to fellow US white supremacist Chris Cook, who provided her with clear instructions on how to make homemade bombs and weapons. In September 2020, Ms Carter reported her concerns about her daughter to anti-radicalisation programme Prevent. The inquest heard that she had been unaware of Mallaburn's influence on her young teenager. In a letter addressed to counter-terrorism police, Ms Carter said that Rudd had developed an 'unhealthy outlook on fascism' and harboured a 'massive dislike for certain races and creeds.' When the youngster was visited by local police at her school, she confirmed her interest in the extreme right and told police she had met an American 'neo-Nazi' over the online gaming platform, Discord. Classmates told school leaders that Rudd had revealed her intention to 'kill someone in school or blow up a Jewish place of worship', counsel to the inquest Edward Pleeth said. 'She said she doesn't care who she kills and nothing matters any more,' a school log shown at the hearing stated. Drawings found in her school bag included sketches of a man giving a Nazi salute. A child protection team from Derbyshire County Council later found that both Mallaburn and Cook had encouraged the young teen to 'look at violent material'. 'Suspicions of radicalisation' related to Rudd were then passed on by counter-terrorism police by MI5. On October 21 2020, just two weeks after Mallaburn had been allowed to board his flight from Heathrow, Rhianan was arrested by East Midlands counter-terror police. Bailed as a terror suspect, she was removed from school and placed in a children's home. While the charges were later dropped, Rudd's mother believed that the pressure of the investigation ultimately took its toll on her young daughter who she said should have been treated 'as a victim rather than a terrorist'. A close friend of the teen's family, Ann, had begun an affair with Mallaburn by the time Rhianan had been arrested. Having later relocated to Mexico to be with him, she told the Daily Telegraph that while he had been 'interviewed by the FBI about Rhianan and her online relationship with a man in Ohio', she firmly believed that he had 'never been charged with any race crime'. Whitehall sources told the publication that the Home Office had put 'robust safeguards in place to ensure that those who intend to sow hatred and division can be refused entry to our country'. Adding that it is a 'police decision' to decide whether an individual is unable to leave the country, they added: 'They make the call on whether it is possible and appropriate to confiscate an individual's passport to prevent their departure'. East Midlands counter-terror police refused to comment ahead of the coroner's findings.
