Combat sport clubs used to boost recruitment for white nationalist hate group, report says [View all]
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Source: CBS News
Updated on: May 17, 2025 / 8:33 AM EDT
Combat sport clubs have been used to boost recruitment for a white nationalist hate group, according to a report released by the legal advocacy organization Southern Poverty Law Center.
The report tracks the efforts of the Patriot Front — one of the most visible groups in the white nationalist movement, formed following the deadly 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 — and their focus on recruiting new members through Active Clubs. These clubs are smaller, looser networks of white supremacist groups, where members train in mixed martial arts.
Through sport, they bond over white nationalist ideologies, SPLC said. The clubs also maintain a robust online presence to encourage young men to become radicalized. Patriot Front is using these groups to expand their reach while maintaining a low profile, the report said, to evade researchers and law enforcement. "It serves as a way to hide some of the Patriot Front's movements," said Jeff Tischauser, the SPLC report's author and a researcher at the not-for-profit legal advocacy organization.
Patriot Front and other white nationalist groups are fueling the expansion of extremist groups in the U.S. – and control at least a dozen clubs nationwide. Since 2023, there has been a 14% increase in hate groups, according to the SPLC, which says it tracks 1,430 hate and antigovernment groups across the country.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/combat-sport-clubs-boost-recruitment-white-nationalist-hate-group-report/
Link to SPLC REPORT - Patriot Front secretly using the active clubs network to sustain its influence
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