The neo-Nazi terrorist group known as the Base, once a major target for FBI counter-terrorism efforts, is openly escalating its operations and calling for an armed insurgency right here in the United States, as per The Guardian. While the group has been busy expanding its reach into Europe, new online activities show that the US remains its operational nerve center, with cells actively training and preparing for violence.
The group is headed by Rinaldo Nazzaro, an ex-Pentagon contractor who is reportedly now a Russian intelligence asset. He recently released an audio recording bragging about the Base’s long-term strategic goal. Nazzaro said, “Our long-term strategic goal is to accomplish something similar to what al-Qaida and IS accomplished in Syria.” He wants to “Form an organized, armed insurgency to take and hold territory. And establish a white homeland which we control and govern.”
He concluded that only two traditionally white nations possess all the necessary prerequisites for this goal: Ukraine and the United States. This isn’t just empty talk; the Base has an active footprint here. Videos released in November show masked men shooting military-style rifles and pistols in what they claim is an Appalachian forest. Another June photo from that same Appalachian cell captures five armed men in skull masks holding rifles and brandishing the Base’s black flag.
We’ve also seen a mid-Atlantic cell performing “Sieg Heil” salutes and a Midwest cell firing pistols
It looks like the Base feels free to organize and prepare for their objective of fomenting an armed insurgency against the US government. This is happening because the FBI, under the shifting political climate of the second Trump administration, has openly rerouted resources away from investigating far-right extremists. Several sources have noted that the FBI has looked away from what is statistically the most dangerous domestic terrorist threat facing the US, even mocking it as part of a “woke” agenda.
Nazzaro has explicitly expanded his endorsement of violence, calling for the establishment of “acceleration teams.” Steven Rai, an analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) who monitors the group, described this as a “troubling escalation.” These teams are aimed at destabilizing society and weakening government authority through attacks on critical infrastructure.
On VKontakte, a Russian social media platform where the Base maintains an account, the group explicitly called for cells to use “targeted attacks on essential infrastructure and resources.” They believe these consistent attacks could contribute to the country’s political fragmentation over time, which has been a theme even across the Atlantic ocean.
The Base’s international activity shows just how serious the threat is. The European Union has declared it a terrorist group, putting it in the same league as Islamic State and al-Qaida. Its Ukrainian wing is linked to multiple acts of terrorism, including the high-profile July assassination of an intelligence officer in Kyiv, and this cell is seen by the Base as a model of active insurgency.
The Base is no longer just an obscure American problem, especially with legitimate questions surrounding its links to Russian sabotage operations. Nazzaro even mentioned in his audio clip that he sees instability in “Canada or the European Union” as promising for recruitment, in his first explicit mention of Canadian activities in years.
However, analyst Steven Rai thinks Nazzaro may have inadvertently increased the group’s exposure to intervention by law enforcement. Rai pointed out that by providing Base operatives in the United States with explicit strategic guidance centered around violence, Nazzaro might just provide the legal space authorities need to crack down on this designated terrorist organization.
Published: Dec 23, 2025 02:30 pm