Despite claiming to be on an anti-Nazi crusade in Ukraine, Russia is currently playing host to the known founder of a neo-Nazi terror group who is currently under investigation by the FBI. Rinaldo Nazzaro, 49, used to be a contractor for the Pentagon, as well as an analyst for the Department of Homeland Security. In 2018, Nazzaro founded The Base – a neo-Nazi terror group whose members is trained with weapons and explosives, and whose express aim is to incite a race war. Several men linked to the group are being prosecuted in the US for offences including conspiracy to murder, and the group now operates out of Russia.
The despicable group has been banned from the UK, with home secretary at the time Priti Patel saying condemning “evil white supremacist groups, who target vulnerable people across the world”.
Canada, like the UK, has designated the group an official terrorist organisation, in the same category as ISIS and al Qaeda. The other right-wing extremist groups proscribed as terror organisations are National Action and Sonnenkrieg Division – both created in the UK – as well as Feuerkrieg Division, founded in Estonia.
Since they were created, The Base has plotted an assassination and several mass shootings.
An FBI counterterrorism probe against the group has led to over a dozen of its members being captured. Those who have been apprehended are currently serving more than a combined 100 years in prison.
However, since at least 2018, Vladimir Putin’s regime has provided a safe haven for Nazzaro, who has yet to be charged despite being named as the founder of the group. According to the BBC, he is now operating out of an upmarket flat in St Petersburg, and continuing to operate his organisation.
Nazzaro has been attempting to recruit from the UK, an investigation by the broadcaster revealed, telling potential new members: “UK is a place that we think there is a lot of potential”.
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Those who he was trying to bring into the fold were also told that societal collapse was a “guiding philosophy” of the group, and were quizzed on books they had read and how familiar they were with white supremacist ideology.
The Base’s aim is to create fascist, white ethno-states via a “race war”.
With no extradition treaty between Russia and the US, the FBI would only be able to take action against him should he return to the country. It is unclear how much protection Russian authorities are providing for Nazzaro.
However, the fascist did make an appearance on a Kremlin-run news channel Rossiya-24, which has been known as the propaganda arm of Putin and has frequently been accused of spreading misinformation.
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In his media appearance Nazzaro tried to clear up his public image by proclaiming himself to be a “family man”.
He added: “I’ve never had any contact with any Russian security services. This is just a popular American claim for all the problems in the country.”
He went on to claim that he and The Base have been mischaracterized. The FBI National Press Office said it did “not have a comment”, while in 2021, a State Department source told VICE News that Nazzaro was a Department of Justice “matter”.