Neo-Nazi ‘Active Clubs’ Expand Worldwide: From Canada to Latin America, a Dangerous Movement Grows
In June, more than a dozen masked men, clad in black masks and sunglasses, appeared in a chilling Telegram video outside London, Canada’s city hall. Their faces hidden, they held banners and shouted in unison: “Mass deportations now!” and “No blood for Israel.”
While such disturbing spectacles of masked extremists are relatively common in the U.S., this one in Canada exposed a darker global trend — the rising influence of neo-Nazi “active clubs”. These groups, originally formed as American neofascist fight clubs, are now crossing borders and gaining ground at an alarming rate.
The city of London, Ontario, already burdened by a history of white supremacy, including ties to the Ku Klux Klan since the 1920s and the racist murder of a Pakistani-Canadian family in 2021, has now become a breeding ground for this new wave of extremism. The movement has also spread to nearby areas like Toronto, Canada’s largest city.
One post from the Canadian chapter on Telegram declared: “Welcome to Hamilton, our city.” The message, accompanied by a sticker featuring the club’s fascist symbol, ended with the chilling motto: “Folk-Family-Future!”
These “active clubs” disguise themselves as fitness and mixed martial arts (MMA) groups training in parks and local gyms. But behind the punching bags lies a dangerous agenda — neo-Nazi and fascist indoctrination. Drawing ideological inspiration from the Third Reich’s obsession with masculinity and the brutality of European soccer hooligans, these clubs have already taken root across multiple countries.
According to recent findings by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE), these groups have been rapidly expanding since 2023, with new chapters in Sweden, Canada, Australia, Switzerland, the UK, Finland, and even Latin America, where Chile and Colombia now host their own cells.
GPAHE's research shows that 27 countries now harbor these far-right factions. Some even mimic the Hitler Youth, targeting and recruiting young men into ideologies that glorify race war and ethnonationalism.
At the core of this movement is Rob Rundo, a notorious neo-Nazi from New York, who pled guilty in 2024 for conspiring to incite riots during the 2017 protests in California. Rundo previously led the Rise Above Movement, a violent gang responsible for their role in the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.
Although Rundo may no longer directly control the new chapters, GPAHE founder Heidi Beirich says the groups remain firmly rooted in his ideology. “They’ve embraced his vision of being ‘autonomous and local’, spreading organically but united by hate,” she said.
These active clubs, especially in white-majority countries leaning toward nativist politics, maintain a tight global network via Telegram. Dozens of accounts now promote one another as part of a “global struggle,” amplifying recruitment and reinforcing the group’s core beliefs.
One figure repeatedly praised in these circles is Thomas Sewell, a violent Australian neo-Nazi with deep ideological ties to Rundo. Posts describe his organization as the model “every dissident group across European civilization should emulate.”
Sewell, who once admitted to trying to recruit the Christchurch mass shooter, is heavily involved in MMA-style training and combat tournaments, which he uses to attract new followers. Like Rundo, he views combat sports as a means of creating “street soldiers” — modern brownshirts prepared for violence.
The far right’s obsession with combat sports, especially those under the UFC umbrella, has created a dangerous recruiting ground. It’s not just for self-defense — it’s training for political warfare.
One group modeling itself after this idea is the Patriot Front, a proto-fascist U.S. hate group infamous for their public marches and propaganda campaigns following natural disasters. Their leader, Thomas Rousseau, recently posted images of his group engaged in MMA training at a gym in North Texas.
Beirich points out that Patriot Front often operates alongside active clubs, with many members cross-training and sharing propaganda. On Telegram, these connections are obvious. One channel with thousands of views boldly declared: “Join Patriot Front if you are in America.”