Thread by @nsfhbtown

This morning: a 🧵on the Indiana Active Club, an emergent neo-Nazi group and an offshoot of Robert Rundo’s Rise Above Movement and Revolt Through Tradition.

CW: conspiracy theories, antisemitism, racism.

Let’s begin in April of 2021. Our research team kept an eye on the Indiana White Lives Matter channel on Telegram. Though not stated, the IN WLM channel had multiple users whose profile photos suggested they were Proud Boys and members of a group calling themselves the Indy Crew.

Here we want to give credit to an incredible group of antifascist researchers from New Zealand @AntiFascistAkl who picked up on the activities of the Indiana Active Club because NZ fascist groups were sharing their posts.

IAC is an offshoot of the Rise Above Movement, a Neo-Nazi fight club that encourages violence and seeks to attract young members into their ranks through MMA, boxing and wrestling.

The Rise Above Movement began in 2017 in Southern California. Per the SPLC report below and this article by NoCARA, RAM attracted members through fight club propaganda and by advertising their members’ histories of violence. nocara.blackblogs.org/2017/07/06/diy…

Articles by @propublica and @bellingcat made the public aware of just how dangerous and how connected to international extremist networks Robert Rundo and RAM are. bellingcat.com/news/2020/11/1…

But during an international manhunt for Rundo and before his expulsion from Serbia, he created a podcast. Alongside a Russian Neo-Nazi, Rundo is sowing the seeds of violent fascist ideology to create smaller, homegrown neo-Nazi collectives. Like IAC. vice.com/en/article/93w…

So let’s talk about what the IAC is doing and where their patterns of activity cluster in Indiana. Their graffiti has shown up in Indy with one reported sighting in Bloomington by someone who described the IAC logo. Photo post from May 17th 2021.

They’ve also stickered in Seymour, Jeffersonville and Terre Haute, often alongside Patriot Front members. Their propaganda is antisemitic and supportive of the racist South African “Boer Lives Matter” campaign.

We also know that they’ve been active in Northern IN around Fort Wayne as well as Greensburg Indiana. The second image is of a sticker placed on a light post directly outside the Decatur County Courthouse in May.

As of April 24th they celebrated reaching 88 subscribers. Currently they have 330.

IAC has been traveling and a ticketing alongside members of Patriot Front in IN. For those who don’t recall, Patriot Front is the Neo-Nazi group whose members recently embarrassed themselves in Philly where they got their asses handed to them by locals.

Two final things. 1) this group wants to fight and is seeking ways to make the landscape more dangerous for Indiana journalists.

And 2) we know the IAC placed a recruiter in the Indiana White Lives Matter chats.

You can conceal your identity but nothing stays hidden forever.

@NYCAntifa @AntifaGarfield @afainatl @KarmaOneSixOne @RoseCityAntifa @Antifagator @FFRAFAction @EyesOnTheRight @LCRWnews @RightWingWatch @crohlv @gwensnyderPHL @YDSABloomington @bloomingtweeps please amplify.