Thread by @Hatewatch

Alexander Slavros, the founder of the online neo-fascist forum Iron March, disappeared from the internet in late November 2017. He spread an ideology rooted in thoughts of violence, racial conquest & fascist purity that still causes harm. splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019…

Our reporter, @MichaelEHayden analyzed roughly 6,000 posts by Slavros scraped from Iron March. He analyzed a total of 150,000 posts. These messages were posted between its launch in 2011 & September 2017, 2 months before Slavros & the forum disappeared. bit.ly/2YOeZjy

The website slavros [dot] org was registered to a Moscow-based man named Alisher Mukhitdinov, according to publicly available records.

Russian journalist Alexey Kovalev confirmed that a propaganda video posted to Iron March was filmed in the Moscow neighborhood Tverskaya.

We identified that Mukhitdinov is the person behind Alexander Slavros, a fact long-speculated on the internet. We were unable to reach Mukhitdinov for comment.

Members of Iron March have been linked to several murders & terror attacks, including the slayings of two men by their roommate Devon Arthurs. Arthurs, one of the victims & a surviving roommate, Brandon Russell, were members of Iron March. splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019…

Brandon Russell was the founder of Atomwaffen Division, one of at least 9 neo-Nazi groups in 9 countries that are linked to Iron March. Atomwaffen Division is associated with at least 5 murders in the United States. splcenter.org/fighting-hate/…

“We don’t think murder is wrong on principle & we do not believe that every human life is sacred,” Slavros wrote on Iron March. As the site's principle moderator, he uploaded or approved of all content on Iron March, including bomb-making instructions that Brandon Russell shared.

Slavros boasted of Iron March’s ability to radicalize people. He also indoctrinated people outside the forum — people like Lindsey Souvannarath, his ex-online girlfriend who planned a mass shooting in Canada.

Souvannarath was arrested after an anonymous tip thwarted the plan.

Language that appeared on Iron March showed up in a manifesto by the man who killed 50 in an attack on 2 New Zealand mosques. The gunman & Slavros both embraced the idea that Western civilization must collapse before a utopian fascist society can rise. bit.ly/2Cq3VA9

A rebranded version of the forum called Fascist Forge took its place. There is no trace of Slavros on other websites he used at the time but the hateful ideology for which he provided a platform continues to spread. splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019…