Active clubs are decentralized cells of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups masquerading as a fitness-focused organization active in North America and Europe. Largely inspired by the defunct street-fighting Rise Above Movement formed by Robert Rundo in 2017 and hooliganism, the network was created in January 2021 and 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 could be activated for coordinated violence. The English branch was involved in organising the 2024 United Kingdom riots and the 2026 Northern Ireland riots.
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.
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.
Description The network adheres to the Great Replacement and white genocide conspiracy theories, conspiracy theories which are based on the belief that globalist western elites, Jewish elites and the mainstream media are jointly engaging in a global conspiracy to replace the white population of the world with non-white immigrants. The network promotes "embracing white identity and “traditional Christian” values". According to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, "AC members [have] argued that lynchings of Black people by the Ku Klux Klan were justified" and its social media accounts have promoted the Christian Identity theology and Racial Holy War.
According to Vice and The Guardian, members of the 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 Hofmann, Atomwaffen is using active clubs as a cover for organizing where they have been outlawed as a terrorist group. According to experts studying violent extremism, Active clubs promote accelerationist ideologies. Further, Active Club Finland trains Karelian separatists that the Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Nikolai Patrushev characterized as a terrorist group. New Jersey man Andrew Takhistov who took part in an active club "Free Rundo" demonstration is charged with plotting an attack on energy infrastructure and synagogues. Takhistov also stated that he was involved in the production of Terrorgram propaganda and planned to join the Russian Volunteer Corps.
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.
Expansion Alexander Ritzmann, the author of the 2023 CEP study, stated "I've never seen a network in right-wing extremism grow so fast. Usually it takes years to build a transnational network."
, 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 June 2025, the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) reported that there were now 187 active AC chapters in 27 countries. They reported that this represented an increase of 25% since late 2023. Half of the new AC chapters were "Youth Clubs" that "recruit teen boys 15 to 18".
Australia In August 2024, it was reported that Australia had an active club network. Known neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell leads a group in South Australia known as Croweater. Sewell was suspended from X in July 2024, but the Croweater page remains, featuring a photo of masked members carrying a banner reading "Australia for the white man". However the clubs were not well-established in Australia as of August 2024.
Canada As of March 2026, over 30 clubs operate in Canada. According to an internal Public Safety Canada brief which was obtained by CBC News, Canada has a "disproportionate" number of active clubs compared to other nations. This is not counting the over 15 chapters of the Second Sons, an organization which the report by Public Safety Canada describes as "a similar far-right group."
The Nationalist-13 active club which is based in Hamilton, Ontario has been noted by CBC News for becoming more public and active in 2025.
There is also a continuity of violent far-right activism: Canadian Active Clubs have strong presence in London, Ontario, a stronghold of the Canadian Klan.
Members of Canadian active clubs often use the Canadian Red Ensign flag, believing it to be the "true" Canadian flag.
Estonia Estonian active club members were involved with the "NS/SK!НОВ" Telegram channel that spread terrorist propaganda and organized far-right violence. Estonian member ran the "Pedo Hunting Estonia" channel. In 2024, three Active Club Estonia members were convicted of far-right vigilantism. According to an Estonian Internal Security Service report Active Club Estonia is "a group mainly engaged in promoting Tesak-style vigilante operations in Estonia". Active Club Estonia has members fighting in Ukraine and has organized charity drives for them. Estonian Active Club was allegedly founded with the support of Estonian Atomwaffen member.
Finland Finland is among the countries where the Active Club movement is most widespread. Local groups operate in at least nine regions, including Uusimaa and Päijät-Häme and Oulu, Turku, Tampere, and Kokkola as of 2026. Active Club Finland took part in the 2024 Independence Day march commemorating the SS organized by neo-Nazis and the Finns Party. Active club members assaulted leftist counterdemonstrators and stole and burned their flags and signs. Finnish journalists have concluded that Active Club Finland shares members with the fascist Blue-and-Black Movement. Finnish Security and Intelligence Service has classified group as extremist that threatens public order and security.
Active Club Finland took part in the 2025 Independence Day torch march in its own masked black bloc. At the starting point of the march, a group of masked men were observed assaulting a woman of foreign background. The men were wearing similar balaclavas to those used by the active club.
In 2026, Active Club Finland took part in a White May Day event organised by the Blue and Black Movement. During the event, members of Active Club Finland assaulted a counter-demonstrator and burned her banner.
According to Savon Sanomat, the support club of FC Lahti includes many members of AC Finland's youth branch "White Youth".
France In April 2022, an active club branch was established in France, initially in Normandy. In 2024, Libération reported that it had around 20 local chapters and reported that it had about a hundred members. Its logo features a knight's helmet on a fleur-de-lis and Celtic cross background. The organization maintains links with other French far-right groups such as Action Française and Groupe Union Défense. It brings together , identitarians and royalists. According to the Counter Extremism Project, France is one of the countries outside North America where these groups are most active. The movement's French Telegram channel, created in 2022, has over 11,000 subscribers.
Its members took part in several violent actions, including a racially-motivated raid in Romans-sur-Isère (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), anti-immigration demonstrations in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins (Pays de la Loire), and clashes with left-wing activists in Montpellier during the 2024 farmers' protests. In Saint-Brieuc, in November 2023, three white supremacists planning to create an active club attacked an alternative venue and were sentenced to between 12 and 24 months in prison. In Mâcon, in April 2024, active club members attacked a person after a concert at an association venue; one was sentenced to 12 months under an electronic bracelet, the other to two years in prison.
Germany As of June 2024, there are at least 12 active club groups in Germany. German groups are also affiliated with a neo-Nazi media collective led by Benjamin Moses of the far-right Freie Sachsen party, a district council member elected in Bautzen. Active Club Germany also shares members with the Junge Nationalisten (JN), and were represented in their "Kämpfen für Europa" event that had attendants from at least eight countries. The JN were also linked to the attack on Social Democrat politician Matthias Ecke. Several clubs in Ostwestfalen were raided by German authorities for illegal possession of firearms in October 2025.
Sweden Local groups established themselves in Sweden in 2023, under the names Gym XIV and . The emergence of these groups coincided with the decrease of members in the Nordic Resistance Movement who consist of similar demographics. Active club members have multiple times been aggressive against participants at Pride events in Sweden. An investigation by Expo identified approximately 80 members of Swedish active clubs, of which more than half had a criminal record, some of which included assault, illegal threats or incitement to ethnic or racial hatred.
Aktivklubb Sverige was in the news again in July 2025 when an Expo investigation found that Sweden's Migration Minister Johan Forssell's son was active in the neo-Nazi group.
In October 2025 the prosecutor brought charges against four men aged 20 to 24 in connection with a wave of violence that occurred in Stockholm in August. According to the prosecutor, the acts were motivated by racism, and each of the accused is linked to the activities of the Swedish active club branch. Oliver Sima Petrell, Olof Pantzar, Casper Englund and Joey Greven received sentences ranging from three years to three years and six months.
UK In May 2023, Active Club Scotland (ACS) posted its first video. Members of the group have made bomb threats and marched with National Action, a banned neo-Nazi terrorist organisation, and some members have links to Patriotic Alternative. There are also other groups in the UK drawing on elements of the international active club movement. ACS often sends messages using the white supremacist slogan 14 Words on its Telegram channel. The leader of the ACS Scott Cowan has been pictured wearing vest with the Blood Drop Cross of the KKK and Scottish members have also shared Holocaust denial videos by Bishop Richard Williamson on social media.