Active Club Network

The Active Club Network are decentralized cells of white supremacy and neo-Nazi groups active in many U.S. states, with multiple chapters in other nations. Largely inspired by the defunct street-fighting Rise Above Movement and hooliganism, the network was created in January 2021 and it promotes mixed martial arts to fight against what it asserts is a system that is targeting the white race, as well as a "warrior spirit" to prepare for a forthcoming race war. Some extremism researchers have characterized the network as a "shadow or stand-by army" which is awaiting activation as the need for it arises.

Origins
The origin of the network has been traced to Robert Rundo, who formed the Rise Above Movement in Southern California in 2017. Facing federal rioting charges in the United States, Rundo left for southeastern Europe to promote the movement. He has described his goal as creating "White Nationalism 3.0" and envisioned a decentralized cell network that would be difficult for researchers and law enforcement to track. He created an online messaging and merchandising organization to encourage communications with other white supremacist groups, such as Patriot Front.

The network adheres to the Great Replacement and white genocide conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories which are based on the belief that elites, Jews and the mainstream media are jointly engaging in a global conspiracy to replace the white population of the world with non-white immigrants.

Developments
Rundo was extradited from Romania to face charges in the United States in August 2023. His supporters have held "Free Rundo" demonstrations in several countries, including Russia, Sweden, and Canada.

, the Anti-Defamation League found that Active Clubs have claimed to be present in at least 33 U.S. states. Active Clubs have also been formed in Lithuania, France, Estonia, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom and Croatia. In Finland, local groups operate at least in the Uusimaa and Päijät-Häme regions and Oulu, Turku, Tampere and Kokkola as of May 2024.

The Guardian reported in August 2023 that some in the Clockwork Crew, a cell of about one dozen members in Long Beach, California, were serving or had served in the United States military. One cell member was expelled from the Marines after he and five others were caught "stealing more than 10,000 rounds of ammunition and several grenades from a weapons depot at Camp Pendleton" in 2021. A Clockwork Crew co-founder was court-martialed, sentenced to eleven months in the brig and given a bad conduct discharge for violating the Marine Corps's ban on the advocacy of extremist ideologies.

In September 2023, the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) characterized the network as a transnational movement which seeks to create a "shadow or stand-by army" that can mobilize itself for the purpose of launching "coordinated, large-scale" violent attacks. A CEP study revealed that the network adhered to a strategy of "hiding in plain sight" by showing a "friendly face" to recruit young white men for fitness, sports and martial arts. Alexander Ritzmann, the author of the study, stated "I've never seen a network in right-wing extremism grow so fast. Usually it takes years to build a transnational network."

According to Vice and The Guardian, members of the terrorist group Atomwaffen Division are active "and play key roles" in organizing the Active Club Network. Leading member of Atomwaffen's Canadian branch, Patrick Gordon Macdonald, who has been charged with terrorism offenses, was allegedly also a member of Canadian Active Club. Kristoffer Nippak, another founding member of the Northern Order who also has been charged with terrorism offenses, is also a member of the Active Club. According to the director of the University of New Brunswick’s Criminology and Criminal Justice Program, David Hoffman, Atomwaffen is using Active Clubs as a cover for organizing where they have been outlawed as a terrorist group. Further, Active Club Finland trains Karelian separatists that the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev characterized as a terrorist group.