US neo-Nazi directing group from Russia, BBC finds – #terror #theBase

The American founder of a US-based militant neo-Nazi group is directing the organisation from Russia, a BBC investigation has found. Rinaldo Nazzaro, 46, who uses an alias in public, left New York for St Petersburg less than two years ago. His extreme right-wing organisation – The Base – is a major counter terrorism focus for the FBI. Seven alleged members were charged this month with various offences, including conspiracy to commit murder. Court documents prepared by the FBI describe The Base as a “racially motivated violent extremist group” that “seeks to accelerate the downfall of the United States government, incite a race war, and establish a white ethno-state”. (…) Last year Nazzaro was listed as a guest at a Russian government security exhibition in Moscow, which “focused on the demonstration of the results of state policy and achievements”. A video posted online in March 2019 shows Nazzaro in Russia wearing a t-shirt bearing an image of President Vladimir Putin along with the words “Russia, absolute power”. We traced Nazzaro and his Russian wife to an upmarket property in central St Petersburg purchased in her name in July 2018 – the same month to which the FBI dates the creation of The Base. Records show that, before moving to Russia, Nazzaro ran a company registered in New York that offered access to a “network of security professionals” with expertise in intelligence, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and psychological operations

via msn: US neo-Nazi directing group from Russia, BBC finds