The Base
The Base is a white supremacist and neo-Nazi terrorist group, part of the international skullmask movement terrorist network. While primarily based within the United States, members have been identified in Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, Ukraine, Russia, and Australia. 1 The Base is formally recognized as a terrorist organization by the Australian and Canadian governments. 2
Contents
According to the Australian government, The Base has had overlapping membership with similar white-supremacist organizations such as Atomwaffen Division and the ecofascist group Green Brigade. The Base’s founder, Rinaldo Nazzaro, was part of the white supremacist group Northwest Front before he founded The Base in 2018, and the Australian government contends he has resided in Russia since that year. 2
Background
The Base is a neo-Nazi terrorist organization that espouses antisemitism and other extremist ideologies such as white supremacy and accelerationism, the belief that “societal collapse can be expedited through violence, including lone-actor terrorist attacks.” 2 According to the George Washington University Program on Extremism, The Base supports the usage of violent force to overthrow governments and social systems. 1 A database on the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) website further alleges that The Base members claim to be “defending the ‘European race’ against a broken ‘system’ that has been infected by Jewish values.” 3
The Base further calls for what the GWU Program on Extremism characterizes as a “rapid acceleration of economic and technological growth as part of a broader process of social change that will ultimately destabilize existing social systems to create radical transformations.” 1
Structure
The George Washington University Program on Extremism characterizes The Base’s structure as a “leaderless resistance,” that consists of “small, decentralized cells [that] operate independently of each other.” The GWU Program on Extremism states that because of the structure, “cells are less likely to interact with one another and draw the attention of law enforcement and intelligence services.” 1
Leadership
The Base was originally founded in 2018 by Rinaldo Nazzaro, also known by the aliases “Roman Wolf” and “Norman Spear.” Born and raised in Livingston, New Jersey, he attended Villanova University in Villanova, Pennsylvania before dropping out and founding private security company Omega Solutions International in 2002. 1
The George Washington University Program on Extremism contends that after working as a private security contractor for the U.S. government, Nazzaro radicalized into a neo-Nazi extremist. In 2017, he applied for, and received, Russian citizenship where he later appeared on social media pages promoting neo-Nazi and fascist ideologies as well as supporting American neo-Nazi Harold Covington, creator of the Northwest Front extremist group of which the Australian government contends Nazzaro was a member before founding The Base. Following Covington’s death in 2018, Nazzaro started The Base and became affiliated with the international Skullmask movement as well as similar white supremacist organizations such as the Atomwaffen Division and the Green Brigade. 1 4 2
Activities
As early as 2018, according to the Anti-Defamation League‘s (ADL) page on the group, members of the Base engaged in “bushcraft training” as well as distributing recruitment flyers in several Canadian communities including St. James, Osborne Village, and Manitoba. By 2019, additional recruitment flyers were found in several U.S states such as New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, Texas, and Arizona. 3
In November 2019, one U.S.-based member of the group, Richard Tobin, was arrested and confessed to orchestrating the vandalization of two synagogues in Hancock, Michigan, and Racine, Wisconsin with antisemitic graffiti. Later in 2021, Tobin was arrested again and confessed to have conspired “with members of a white supremacist hate group to threaten and intimidate African Americans and Jewish Americans by vandalizing minority-owned properties throughout the country in September 2019.” 3
In October, 2021, The Base members Patrik Jordan Mathews and Brian Lamley, Jr. pled guilty to planning an armed attack against a pro-gun rally Richmond, Virginia that occurred on January 2020. 3
Affiliated Organizations
The Base is connected with similar extremist groups. The George Washington University Program on Extremism identifies the group as part of an international “skullmask movement” of white supremacists including Atomwaffen Division (AWD) and Feuerkrieg Division. The Australian government has also identified overlapping membership between The Base and the eco-fascist group Green Brigade. The Base’s founder, Rinaldo Nazzaro, has been identified a former member of the extremist group Northwest Front before he started The Base in 2018. 2 1