The Base

The Base is a militant, racially motivated, anti-Zionist, neo-Nazi organization formed in 2018 that pushes for the collapse of the federal government and modern-day society through anarchy and chaos, with the eventual goal of creating a white ethno-state.

The group draws inspiration from white nationalists James Mason and Richard Butler, with its logo brandishing three white Eihwaz runes (a reference to the German Nazi party) in front of a black background. Jew hatred, anti-Zionism, and spreading bias against the Jews are fundamental to its ideology.

The extremist group carries out acts of vandalism and violence against minorities, including plots to threaten, intimidate, and murder Black and Jewish Americans. It targets private individuals and their property, as well as greater communities and institutions.

Starting in 2019, the group began distributing recruitment flyers with the words “Save your race, join the Base”on college campuses and in major cities. It also conducts in-person field and leadership training, in which members experiment with how to conduct surveillance and carry out terrorist attacks, make explosive devices and chemical weapons, and practice guerilla warfare tactics.

The white supremacist group has been banned in Australia for its paramilitary camps. As part of a nationwide FBI investigation, several of its members have been arrested and charged with a variety of crimes, including weapons violations, conspiracy to commit murder, and participation in a criminal gang.

Shortly after the group was established, its founder, Italian American Rinaldo Nazzaro, fled the U.S. for Russia, where he has been granted citizenship. He has appeared on Russian state-owned TV and confirmed that The Base is currently operational and actively recruiting. He used the aliases “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf” for recruiting online on forums such as Telegram, Gab, and BitChute, as well as mainstream platforms such as YouTube and Twitter. In 2020, after his identity was publicly revealed, he went underground and a new leader, Justen Watkins, took over until the latter’s arrest in October 2020.

Instead of adhering to a traditional hierarchical structure, The Base organizes itself in “trouble trios,” or cells of two or three persons who train and carry out acts of violence and racism. It has at least 50 members from 26 states and eight countries, including Jew hater Richard Tobin, who admitted his role in directing the network’s ‘Great Lakes’ Cell’ via online forums and encrypted messages applications to vandalize synagogues.

Another member, anti-Zionist Yousef Omar Barasneh, spray-painted swastikas and antisemitic tropes on a synagogue and directed a group to vandalize minority-owned properties, calling it “Operation Kristallnacht.”

Chris Hood, a Boston-based antisemite and founder of the white supremacist outfit National Socialist Club, is a former member of The Base. Hood has been arrested several times and organizes antisemitic flyer drops and neo-Nazi rallies throughout New England to spread antisemitic bias against the Jewish people.

Many members of the Base are similarly involved with other radical far-right groups, such as the Patriot Frontand Atomwaffen division. Other adherents include Patrik Matthews, Brian Lemley Jr., and William Garfield Bilbrough IV.