The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) reports weekly on the methods used by extremists to exploit the Internet and social media platforms to recruit followers and incite violence. On November 8, former members of the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) posted online that they were recreating the allegedly disbanded organization, separate from the National Socialist Order (NSO), itself a successor organization of AWD. The neo-Nazi James Mason, and his main group of followers later claimed that the new AWD was either a single individual or two people and was created under false pretenses. The new AWD has announced a severing of ties with the NSO and other members of the neo-Nazi scene. In addition, extreme-right, white supremacist, and neo-Nazi users on Telegram and 4chan celebrated Kyle Rittenhouse, using his current trial to glorify violence against Jews. The neo-Nazi group The Base launched a fundraiser, posting two crypto wallet addresses on their Telegram channel. CEP researchers also found a user on a pro-ISIS chat posting a guide on how to use cryptocurrency Monero. Finally, multiple pieces of ISIS propaganda were found on Telegram’s Telegra.ph bulletin board.
Alleged New Atomwaffen Division Group Created, Breaks Ties with National Socialist Order and James Mason On November 8, alleged former members of the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) claimed on a recently relaunched website, “Das Paradies,” that the group was being restarted. The post stated that too many accelerationists were content to participate in online activities, as opposed to real-world actions, and that the group was reforming in hopes of becoming a “vanguard of struggle.” AWD disbanded in March 2020, but a successor organization, the National Socialist Order (NSO), was created in July 2020 by former AWD members, and other members have continued to participate in the neo-Nazi scene. Hours after the new AWD group was announced, the editor-in-chief of a different accelerationist neo-Nazi website claimed that the new AWD was, in fact, two individuals and that they had tricked James Mason and the original site into supporting them and their affiliated website, “Das Paradies,” under false pretenses. The same post claimed that the same individual had previously approached Mason about restarting AWD but was rebuffed. The post claimed that if the new group had chosen a different name, they might have received support from Mason and the accelerationist website, but that AWD as a brand was over. The accelerationist website stated that they were also halting support to “Das Paradies.” Before “Das Paradies” became inaccessible on November 12, the AWD groupuscule stated that they had broken off all relations with the NSO, James Mason, and the former AWD leader Brandon Russell and anyone condemning the group was a “coward.” James Mason released a video on November 12 denouncing the new alleged AWD group, stating that the real AWD disbanded in March 2020 and that the current copycat group was a single individual. Mason criticized the media for promoting the story that AWD was being recreated and stated his opposition to forming groups. He did not mention NSO, nor did he condemn acts of violence. There have previously been AWD copycat organizations, most notably the “Fission” breakaway group, as well as several other groups with no known connection to the primary organization that uses the AWD name and iconography, or groups that are heavily inspired by AWD but have no established ties to the U.S. organization. The NSO, founded in the summer of 2020, has previously encouraged acts of domestic terrorism.
via counterextremism: xtremist Content Online: Former Atomwaffen Division Members Announced A New Splinter Group, Are Condemned By James Mason