Intelligence and Security Committee Report: Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism/The International Dimension
THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSION
108. The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) assesses that there are Extreme Right-Wing (XRW) links to the UK from the *** countries; ***, ***, ***, ***, *** and *** (although this is not an exhaustive list and it is likely that links to other countries and individuals exist). However, accurate international Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism (ERWT) statistics are not available as differing thresholds for terrorism and hate crime mean that comparisons cannot be properly measured.[1]
ERWT groups in Northern Europe
109. There are a number of Right-Wing Extremist and ERWT groups in northern Europe—some with links to the UK:
- The Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM) is active in Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Finland. NRM wishes to establish a Nordic National Socialist government by revolution or through the political system. It claims this is a struggle which will require bloodshed. Across the region, NRM has been linked to multiple murders, attack plots and the possession of weapons and explosive materials. In Finland, NRM is a proscribed group—however, members have re-formed as other groups, including: Towards Freedom, The Peoples Unity Association and the charitable body Finland Aid. *** In the UK, ***.
- Nordic Strength (NS) was formed in Sweden in August 2019 by the former NRM leader Klaus Lund. NS has broadly the same aims as NRM, but rejects its advocacy of using the political system to achieve its objectives, and has attracted the more violent members of NRM. ***
- Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD) was originally a solely UK-based group, however through exploitation of the online space SKD ***. Since the arrest of UK-based SKD members, the group currently operates predominantly as an online entity with international members.
- Scrofa Division is a White Supremacist online store selling t-shirts and other merchandise. It was banned from Facebook in 2018 but as of 2019 was still active online.
- Soldiers of Odin (SOO) is a street movement formed in 2015 in response to the influx of refugees to Europe. The group has a small presence across Northern Europe and Canada, and operates as a street militia, patrolling towns in an attempt to 'protect' its white citizens from immigrants.
- Blood and Honour/Combat 18 (B&H/C18) is a RW music scene movement, founded in the early 1990s in the UK. In 2019 it was active in some northern European countries: ***, ***, ***, *** and ***. B&H/C18 are unlikely to be directly involved in attack planning in the UK. However, it is a realistic possibility that international elements of the groups are involved in violent activity.[2]
ERWT activity in Germany
110. A series of ERWT attacks in Germany in recent years point to a growing crisis: ERWT has moved from a conceptual threat to a clear and present danger. The German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) reported on 10 February 2020 that, according to Germany's domestic security service, there were "some 12,700 far-right extremists 'oriented towards violence".[3] The Right-Wing Extremist scene in Germany is composed of neo-Nazi elements, Komradschaften (comradeships), loose networks of Right-Wing Extremists from different sub-cultures and the so-called 'intellectual right'.[4] Germany's domestic intelligence agency (the BfV) has stated that the most radical Right-Wing Extremists in the country number 32,000 and that 13,000 of these are considered potentially violent.[5]
111. In November 2020, it was reported that the German authorities had charged 12 alleged members of an ERWT cell with terror offences, including planning attacks on politicians, asylum-seekers and Muslims—it is notable that these individuals had apparently set up their own ERWT movement in order to carry out these attacks.[6]
112. Germany's security services categorise crimes committed by Right-Wing Extremists as "politically motivated right-wing crime".[7] This includes violence perpetrated against foreigners, Jews, Muslims, political opponents or representatives of the state. The authorities collect data pertaining to the victims of Far-Right violence in the country[8]—as at 20 February 2020 the official death toll was 94, although critics accuse the authorities of not always categorising crimes as politically motivated, but instead attributing them to personal revenge or being motivated by other circumstances.
Germany: A mounting number of attacks[9]
- 19 February 2020: Hanau shooting. A gunman assassinated nine people in two shisha bars in Hanau. The suspect was found dead hours later in his home. A letter of confession was found, together with a video made by the suspect espousing a mix of bizarre ideologies, which are not consistent with any particular movement. While much of his hatred was directed toward Turkish and North African immigrants (whom he targeted at the shisha restaurants), he also referred to antisemitic and UFO-based conspiracy theories and expressed sympathy with the 'Incel' community.[10]
- 1 December 2019: infiltration of the special forces. DW reported that suspected neo-Nazis had been discovered in the ranks of Germany's special forces.
- 9 October 2019: Halle Synagogue. An armed lone attacker attempted to enter a synagogue in the city of Halle. Unable to gain access to the building, he killed at passerby before driving to a kebab shop where he killed a customer. He had written a 'manifesto' espousing antisemitic, racist and xenophobic views.
- 2 June 2019: murder of politician Walter Lübcke. Lübcke was a German local politician in Hesse, and a member of the Christian Democratic Union party. He was assassinated at his home by neo-Nazi extremist Stephan Ernst.
- 22 July 2016: mass shooting at Munich shopping mall. A shooter killed nine people before turning the gun on himself. Although it was not initially attributed to ERWT, the police later opened a further investigation and in 2019 announced that the killer held Right-Wing Extremist views.
- 2015 and 2016: attacks on refugee centres. In 2016, the authorities registered 995 attacks on refugee centres. In 2015, an ERWT group naming itself Gruppe Freital carried out a number of attacks on refugees. (In 2018, eight members of the group were convicted of founding a terrorist organisation.)
- 1990-1993. In the early 1990s, neo-Nazis set fire to multiple buildings housing asylum-seekers and foreigners. A total of 58 people were killed.
113. The threat is compounded by the growing influence of the Far Right and XRW in the political sphere. The Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party was founded in 2013 in response to the Eurozone bailout measures for Greece, and is currently the largest opposition party in the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, with a significant presence in state parliaments, especially in the east.
114. On 12 March 2020, it was reported that Thomas Haldenwang, the Chief of Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV), had placed elements of the AfD under formal surveillance:
His Agency has placed under formal surveillance the AfD's most radical faction, Der Flugel (The Wing). While there are no formal membership lists, Der Flugel is estimated to have about 7,000 followers, making up a fifth of the AfD's membership. Its influence in the party, however, goes beyond that, with its radically nationalist demands helping to shape the AfD agenda. Reclassifying the group will make it easier for Germany's spy agency to authorise wiretaps or make targeted use of police informants.[11]
The ERWT threat in other Northern European countries
115. In September 2019, it was assessed that there was a realistic possibility of an attack in ***, but that an attack was unlikely in ***, ***, ***, *** and ***. That being said, ERWT remains a threat in those countries, ***.[12]
ERWT in Europe: An overview[13]
Norway
***: The UK group Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD) has a presence in Norway. SKD has become more active in the online space. ***.
Recent attack: On 10 August 2019, Norwegian national Philip Manshaus attacked the Al-Noor Islamic Centre in Baerum with a firearm, injuring one person. Manshaus was not a member of any ERWT groups, but was active in the Extreme Right-Wing online community. He uploaded posts to Endchan, an image sharing web forum, and claimed that he had been inspired by Brenton Tarrant's 15 March 2019 attack in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Sweden
***: In the September 2018 elections, NRM made an unsuccessful bid to enter the Swedish parliament. In August 2019 the former Swedish NRM leader, Klaus Lund, split from NRM to form Nordic Strength (NS). *** The UK group Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD) has a presence in Sweden.
***: ***.
***
Denmark
In 2019, ERWT activity in Denmark focused on social gatherings and gun clubs with involvement in NRM in decline. It was common for the Extreme Right-Wing to have *** and an interest in weapons. Individuals in Denmark had links to actors in other European and Five Eyes countries. ***.
Italy
On 15 July 2019, Italian authorities discovered an air-to-air missile amongst other weapons and Neo-Nazi paraphernalia as part of CT raids in Northern Italy. The raids were part of an investigation into Extreme Right-Wing individuals who had previously fought for Russian separatist forces in Eastern Ukraine. One of those arrested was an ex-customs officer.
Belgium
There are a number of ERWT and extremist groups active in Belgium—the majority under investigation are neo-Nazi.
Finland
The Finnish XRW scene draws heavily on 'Cultural Nationalism', with groups such as Soldiers of Odin (SOO) and NRM framed as a response to the influx of refugees in 2015.
Iceland
NRM has a small presence in Iceland. In 2017, Australian national Brenton Tarrant (the Christchurch attacker) spent time in Iceland, ***.
ERWT activity in the US and Canada
116. In the US, ERWT has its roots in the 'white terrorism' perpetrated against African Americans during the 1860s-1870s, and later the anti-government ideology which motivated Timothy McVeigh's 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City.
117. As at January 2020, ERWT attacks have killed an estimated 110 people in the US since 9/11 (compared with 107 people killed by Islamist terror attacks in the same period).[14] In many cases, these attacks have been conducted by lone individuals who take advantage of America's permissive gun laws to fuel their attacks. EWRT is categorised as 'Racially and Ethnically motivated violent Extremism' in the US, which falls under the umbrella of 'Domestic Terrorism'—alongside all other terror incidents conducted by domestic attackers and motivated by domestic issues/organisations. 'Domestic Terrorism' is not a federal crime, and in most instances is dealt with by state police rather than federal law enforcement or intelligence services.[15] As a result, accurate statistics are not readily available on ERWT since some terrorist acts may have previously been described as hate crime or extremism.
118. Nevertheless, in the period 1 January 2019 to 26 September 2019 there were two ERWT attacks in the US, with a further six plots disrupted:[16]
| Attacks | |
| 27 April 2019 | Jon Earnest attacked the Chabad of Poway Synagogue in San Diego, California with an assault rifle, killing one and injuring three others. A few hours before the attack, a manifesto written by Earnest appeared on 8chan, an online message board system known to be used by Extreme Right-Wing Terrorists—in it he cited Brenton Tarrant (the Christchurch attacker) as a strong influence. Earnest held antisemitic and White Supremacist views, and was active in the ERWT online community. |
| 3 August 2019 | Patrick Crusius attacked a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas with an automatic weapon, killing 22 and injuring 26. US authorities investigated the attack as domestic violent extremism. |
| Disrupted plots | |
| June 2019 | Ross Farca was arrested in California and charged with making criminal threats and possession and manufacturing of an illegal assault rifle. Farca allegedly posted an online threat to commit a mass shooting at a synagogue. |
| 14 June 2019 | Joshua Leff was arrested in Florida, US for posting threatening messages on BitChute141 and Gab. Leff was understood to adhere to Right-Wing Extremist ideologies and was charged with intimidation, sending threatening messages and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon. |
| 7 August 2019 | Cesar Sayoc was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sending 16 packages containing explosives to public figures and politicians in 2018. |
| 8 August 2019 | Conor Climo was arrested in Las Vegas for threatening to attack Jewish sites and patrons at an LGBTQ bar. On searching his property, the authorities discovered weapons and explosives. |
| 17 August 2019 | James Reardon was arrested by police in Ohio for threatening to attack a Jewish community centre. Police stated that a search of Reardon’s home uncovered two semi-automatic rifles, an anti-tank gun, body armour and White Nationalist material. |
| 21 September 2019 | US Army soldier Jarratt William Smith was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of sharing bomb-making instructional material via social media. Smith also suggested using a vehicle-borne IED to attack a major news network and Democrat politicians.
***.[17] |
the large number of casualties resonates with the online [X]RW terrorist community. Online [X]RW terrorists refer to the El Paso shooter as "Saint Crusius" and "Saint Patrick"; a similar reaction was seen towards Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the Christchurch attack.[18]
120. In addition to the attacks and attack-planning, we are advised that a large number of US nationals contribute to the promulgation of ERWT rhetoric online. Extreme Right-Wing Terrorists operating online in the US are also protected, in part, by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and Section 230 of the US Communications Decency Act. Posts and comments which would constitute a hate crime in the UK may be legal in the US. As a result, XRW online sites see considerable contributions from US-based activists. There are also a large number of XRW groups active across the US who are predominantly involved in street protests.
121. We are advised that the number of ERWT groups in the US is not known. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC),[19] there were 1,020 hate groups active in the US in 2018, with 148 listed as White Nationalist and 112 groups as neo-Nazi. However, not all the groups listed by SPLC would necessarily meet the terrorism thresholds in the UK.[20] Members of the Proud Boys, a right-wing nationalist extremist group, were arrested for their role in the attack on Congress in Washington, DC on 6 January 2021.[21] Whilst not banned in the US, the Proud Boys were designated as a 'terrorist entity' by the Canadian government on 3 February 2021: "Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the decision was influenced by the group's pivotal role in the 6 January riots at the Capitol in Washington, DC."[22]
122. In September 2019, it was assessed that the following are key international groups who have US and Canadian members and who incite or support the use of terrorist acts:
- Atomwaffen Division US (AWD-US) was officially founded in 2015 by members of the now defunct 'Iron March' forum. A US-based group, it took its influence from the UK group National Action (now proscribed) and was believed to have affiliated groups in ***, ***, ***, *** and ***. In March 2020, AWD claimed to have disbanded in an audio statement made by James Mason.[23] The recording indicated that the group was disbanding following FBI scrutiny of its activity. According to open-source reporting, the group re-emerged as the National Socialist Order and has a new leadership structure.
- The Base, founded by US national Norman Spear, is a global White Supremacist/ White Nationalist network launched with the aim of unifying Extreme Right-Wing Terrorists into a militia aiming to prepare and train for the coming 'race war'. JTAC assesses that the international profile of the group means that ***.[24]
- Northern Order (NO) is an AWD-aligned group based in Canada. A Canadian-based member, known as 'Dark Foreigner', creates and disseminates violent imagery for AWD and internationally AWD-aligned groups. It supports Siege culture and 'accelerationism'.[25]
- Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) was an international virtual White Supremacist group; it also had a presence in Europe and the Five Eyes. On 8 February 2020, it claimed to have 'dissolved', and in April 2020 Estonian police arrested a 13-year-old boy, identified only as 'Commander', who had allegedly created and led the FKD. JTAC assesses that:
***[26]
Links to the UK
123. Links have existed between ERWT groups and individuals in the UK, Europe and elsewhere for several years. The Director General of MI5 confirmed that "the groups element of this is less influential on what we are seeing amongst our subjects than the individual links over the internet".[27] Across the board, the most striking feature has been the increase in globally affiliated groups, and the growth of transnational and shared ideologies—this is likely due to ERWT groups' increased use of the online space (which is explored in depth in the next chapter).[28]
124. One of the most important influences has been the book Siege, a collection of newsletters and articles by American neo-Nazi James Mason,[29] a document Professor Matthew Feldman calls "amongst the most dangerous Neo-Nazi texts currently available".[30]
The influence of 'Siege culture' and 'accelerationism
Propaganda is used prolifically amongst Right-Wing Extremists across the English-speaking world, where it is shared and adapted online, including by Right-Wing Extremists in the UK. JTAC advises that "similar and almost identical propaganda material has been seen disseminating from groups in the UK, America and Australia".[31]
Much of this propaganda is based on shared, transnational ideology, most notably that espoused by American White Supremacist James Mason in his book Siege, from which the terms 'Siege culture' and 'accelerationism' are derived.
A compilation of Mason's 'Siege' newsletters written in the period 1980-1986, the book advocates the creation of autonomous terror cells to wage war against 'the system' through violent revolution and political terrorism. JTAC advises that it is one of the few pieces of Right-Wing Extremist literature providing inspiration for how White Supremacist groups, both domestically and internationally, should operate and strategically plan.[32] Rather bizarrely, Siege is freely available from Amazon and other online retailers.
Mason advocates a five-stage approach to establishing a fascist, white ethno-state, first detailed in the 1961 publication This Time the World, by George Lincoln Rockwell, former leader of the American Nazi Party and a major influence on Mason.
These five stages are:
- making the masses aware of the National Socialist Movement;
- using propaganda to ‘educate' the masses on true National Socialism and the perceived problems caused by the Jewish people and 'black' population;
- entering into the democratic political process;
- coming to political power on a platform of 'dealing with the Negro people' through a policy of deportation; and
- the extermination of any 'traitors' (most particularly the Jewish population).
'Accelerationism' is a concept adopted by Mason whereby certain acts of violence are positively viewed as contributing towards a 'race war'—for example, Brenton Tarrant's terrorist attack in Christchurch in March 2019.
***
125. ***.[33]
***
***.[34]
- ***.
- ***.
- ***.
- ***.[37]
127. ***.[38]
I. There is no process in place to monitor those 'G***' individuals who have travelled overseas for Extreme Right-Wing Terrorism-related purposes and have returned to the UK—there is a strong possibility that these returning foreign fighters, some of whom may have fought ***, will have been further radicalised *** and developed connections with others who share their Extreme Right-Wing ideology.
ERWT support from other nation states: Russia
128. Russia has a longstanding history of using proxy actors to exert political influence and cause social unrest, and it is highly likely that it perceives exerting influence via Far-Right groups as an effective way to exacerbate tensions in the West. MI5 advises that:
Links between the Russian state and Right Wing Extremists ***. JSTAT [the Joint State Threat Assessment Team][39] assesses that Russia *** Extreme Right-Wing groups *** *** several of these groups have pro-Russia sympathies. It is likely some UK-based individuals and groups with Extreme Right Wing views may ***.[40]
129. There is some, limited, evidence to suggest that there is Russian state support for some Far-Right/XRW groups in the UK, ***.[41] It is likely that this is a bid to fuel divisions and increase socio-political discord generally. In October 2019, three members of Britain First were detained by the police at Heathrow on their return from a working trip to Moscow. Whilst in Russia, they had met with Russian parliamentarians and the Britain First leader, Paul Golding, gave an interview on state-owned TV channel Rossiya 24. Paul Golding refused to give the police the pin codes for a number of his electronic devices,[42] and was subsequently charged and convicted of refusing to comply with a duty under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.[43]
130. ***.[44]
The Russian Imperial Movement
In April 2020, the US State Department proscribed the Russian Imperial Movement (an ultra-nationalist paramilitary group based in St Petersburg which allegedly has links to White Supremacist organisations in the West) as an international terrorist organisation.[45]
In September 2020, JSTAT assessed that there was currently ***.[46]
Mixed Martial Arts
131. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) was flagged up to the Committee by Nick Lowles, Chief Executive of Hope Not Hate, as a potential recruiting ground by, and for, the Far Right:
The one other angle which hasn't influenced the UK as much as it has in central Europe but it has the potential to is the whole MMA world, so the mixed martial arts now. The Far Right in central Europe and the US has heavily tried to kind of get into the MMA world, which is, I guess, typical, it's very male, it's fighting, masculine, and a number of MMA instructors/fighters from the US have come to Europe over the last few years and in Germany, Poland, the Far Right influence in these worlds, they set up fight clubs. You know, some of the most distressing videos online are, you know, Russian and Polish extremists fighting each other for some fun online. In National Action, in the pre-ban days, there were six MMA instructors involved in National Action. So this is a world, I think, that, you know, certainly we need to be aware of, because it's deliberately being targeted by the Far Right now, because it's people who like fighting.[47]
132. These concerns are borne out by recent media reporting in Germany. In September 2020, the German media carried reports of a police raid on a Right-Wing Extremist MMA tournament (which had been banned in 2019) organised in the grounds of a motorcycle club in Magdeburg, and that "Germany's intelligence services have described the event as 'the largest and most renowned European martial arts event for the right-wing extremist scene'."[48] However, when we asked CTP and Homeland Security Group about the possible connection between ERWT and MMA in the UK, they advised that they had, to date, seen no evidence of links between ERWT and MMA.[49]
J. Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a popular activity enjoyed by many people across the UK. The fact that this is an area currently being targeted by the Far Right in other countries, and that a number of MMA instructors were previously found to have been involved in National Action, suggests that MI5 and Counter Terrorism Policing should be alert to the potential for links in the future.
- ↑ JTAC paper, 6 September 2019.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ 'Right-wing terror in Germany: a timeline', Deutsche Welle, 20 February 2020.
- ↑ Europol, 'Right-wing terrorism', European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend Report 2019.
- ↑ 'German spy agency puts part of far-right AfD under surveillance', The Guardian, 12 March 2020.
- ↑ 'Germany charges 12 in far-right terror plot', Deutsche Welle, 12 November 2020.
- ↑ 'Right-wing terror in Germany: a timeline', Deutsche Welle, 20 February 2020.
- ↑ This data has been collected since the reunification of Germany in 1990.
- ↑ 'Right-wing terror in Germany: a timeline', Deutsche Welle, 20 February 2020.
- ↑ 'Terror in Hanau: Right Response', Hope Not Hate, 20 February 2020; 'Germany mass shooting: Gunman was eugenicist, manifesto shows', Independent, 20 February 2020.
- ↑ 'German spy agency puts part of far-right AfD under surveillance', The Guardian, 12 March 2020.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ ***
- ↑ 'Terrorism in America, Part IV: What is the threat to the United States today?', New America Foundation, 2019.
- ↑ 'How many attacks will it take until the white-supremacist threat is taken seriously?', The Atlantic, 4 August 2019.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ BitChute is a UK registered company, founded by British nationals and based in Andover. It was launched in February 2017 as a platform for content removed by other, bigger social media platforms.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ The Southern Law Poverty Center (SPLC) is an American non-profit legal advocacy organisation specialising in civil rights and public interest litigation.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ 'Did the Proud Boys Help Coordinate the Capitol Riot? Yes, U.S. suggests', New York Times, 5 February 2021, nytimes.com/2021/02/05nyregion/proud-boys-capitol-riot-conspiracy.html
- ↑ 'Proud Boys: Canada labels far-right group a terrorist entity', BBC News, 3 February 2021, www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-5592348
- ↑ James Mason is the author of Siege, a collection of writing which advocates the use of terrorist violence. Siege is covered in more detail later in this section.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ 'Accelerationism' is an extreme Far-Right theory which centres on the idea that rebuilding a racially pure world order requires stoking chaos through mass attacks and taking up arms to ignite a race war.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ Oral evidence - MI5, 28 April 2021.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ Mason joined the American Nazi Party in 1966, aged 14, and later joined the terrorist group the National Socialist Liberation Front. After a period of dormancy in the 2000s, Mason emerged online again in July 2017, a move which galvanised neo-Nazis across the world.
- ↑ Written evidence - Professor Matthew Feldman, 23 October 2020.
- ↑ JTAC paper, 4 May 2019.
- ↑ JTAC paper, 4 September 2019.
- ↑ ***
- ↑ ***
- ↑ ***
- ↑ ***
- ↑ ***
- ↑ ***
- ↑ The Joint State Threat Assessment Team (JSTAT) is a cross-departmental assessment organisation that provides analysis on state threats to the UK and UK interests. JSTAT assesses the national security threat imposed by activities such as espionage, assassination, interference in the UK's democracy, threats to the UK's security and the UK's people and assets overseas.
- ↑ ISC Right-Wing Terrorism inquiry - Written evidence, MI5, 31 January 2020.
- ↑ Britain First is a Far Right political party formed in 2011 by former members of the British National Party (BNP). The organisation's current leader is former BNP Councillor, Paul Golding.
- ↑ BBC News, 21 February 2020.
- ↑ Schedule 7 allows police to interrogate, search and detain an individual for up to six hours at a port in the UK. Its purpose is to determine whether an individual is involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism.
- ↑ Written evidence - MI5, 2 October 2020.
- ↑ 'United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists', 7 April 2020, state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-imperial-movement-and-leaders-as-global-terrorists/
- ↑ ***
- ↑ Oral evidence - Nick Lowles, Hope Not Hate, 16 December 2020.
- ↑ 'Germany: Police raid far-right martial arts tournament', Die Welle, 27 September 2020.
- ↑ Oral evidence - CTP and Home Office, 28 April 2021.