Rinaldo Nazzaro,

Leader of the Neo-Nazi Terrorist Group—The Base:

Probable Linkages to the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM)

C/O Futures Terrorism Research Note Series

Robert J. Bunker and Pamela Ligouri Bunker

7 December 2022

©Copyright C/O Futures, LLC

The Base and Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) Symbols

Rinaldo Nazzaro, leader of The Base, has a checkered past with ties to a shadowy private military
contracting company along with a history of shifting fortunes (asset accumulation and then loss)
and ever-increasing Russian ties. While Nazzaro’s linkages to The Base are well documented, his
probable linkages to the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) situated in St. Petersburg, Russia, and
a Putin Regime program intended to destabilize the West via its support of neo-Nazi terrorist
groups has not, to this point been openly analyzed.

Key Information: Jason Wilson, “Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-
Nazi terror group.” The Guardian. 23 January 2020,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/revealed-the-true-identity-of-the-leader-of-
americas-neo-nazi-terror-group:

The Guardian has learned the true identity of the leader and founder of the US-
based neo-Nazi terror network the Base, which was recently the target of raids by
the FBI after an investigation into domestic terrorism uncovered their plans to start
a race war.

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 Members of the group stand accused of federal hate crimes, murder plots and
firearms offenses, and have harbored international fugitives in recent months.

The Base’s leader previously operated under the aliases “Norman Spear” and
“Roman Wolf”. Members of the network do not know his true identity due to the
group’s culture of internal secrecy.

But the Guardian can reveal that “Norman Spear” is in fact US-born Rinaldo
Nazzaro, 46, who has a long history of advertising his services as an intelligence,
military and security contractor. He has claimed, under his alias, to have served in
Russia and Afghanistan.

The revelation of his identity comes after a months-long investigation by the

Guardian into Nazzaro and the activities of the Base…

Key Information: Daniel De Simone, Andrei Soshnikov & Ali Winston, “Neo-Nazi Rinaldo
Nazzaro running US militant group The Base from Russia.” BBC News. 24 January 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915:

…A video posted online in March 2019 shows Nazzaro in Russia wearing a t-shirt
bearing an image of President Vladimir Putin along with the words “Russia,
absolute power”.

We traced Nazzaro and his Russian wife to an upmarket property in central St

Petersburg purchased in her name in July 2018 - the same month to which the FBI
dates the creation of The Base.

Records show that, before moving to Russia, Nazzaro ran a company registered in
New York that offered access to a “network of security professionals” with
expertise in intelligence, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and psychological
operations.

A website for the firm - Omega Solutions - once stated: “Our associates have
worked with various government and military agencies, including multiple wartime
deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan”.

When we visited the company’s one-time address it was little more than a mail
drop, although the firm officially remains active and has a current insurance policy.

Property records show that an apartment associated with Nazzaro in New Jersey
was given as the address for an entity called “Base Global” when it purchased land
in the US state of Washington…

Key Information: Daniel De Simone and Ali Winston, “Neo-Nazi militant group grooms
teenagers.” BBC News. 22 June 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53128169:

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 Secret efforts to groom and recruit teenagers by a neo-Nazi militant group
have been exposed by covert recordings.

They capture senior members of The Base interviewing young applicants and
discussing how to radicalise them.

The FBI has described the group as seeking to unite white supremacists around the
world and incite a race war.

The recordings were passed to US civil rights organisation, the Southern Poverty
Law Center, before some were shared with BBC One’s Panorama.

Rinaldo Nazzaro, founder of The Base, is a 47-year-old American. Earlier this year
the BBC revealed he was directing the organisation from his upmarket flat in
St. Petersburg, Russia.

The interviews, which took place via conference call on an encrypted app, followed
a pattern - prospective members were asked by Nazzaro about their personal
history, ethnicity, radicalisation journey and experience with weapons, before a
panel of senior members posed their own questions…

Key Information: “The Base.” Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC),
Stanford University, February 2021, https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/the-
base:

The Base is an accelerationist neo-Nazi militant organization operating mostly in

the United States with some activity in Europe. The group’s founder is based in
Russia. Organized mostly online as a loose network of cells, the Base anticipates
the overthrow of modern society and an ensuing race war. The group’s objective is
to establish a white ethno-state in North America, inspired by the separatist projects
of other U.S. white supremacist groups, such as the Northwest Front and Aryan
Nations. As of January 2021, the Base had successfully carried out acts of
vandalism, but its major attacks against human targets were foiled by law
enforcement. The group regularly holds offline meet-ups and paramilitary training
sessions for its members across the United States. Although this organization’s
name appears to be an English translation of “Al Qaeda,” the Base claims no
affiliation with the jihadist group. The FBI infiltrated the Base in 2019 and arrested
many of its members between late 2019 and early 2020. In January 2020, it was
reported that the Base’s founder, a U.S. citizen named Rinaldo Nazzaro, led the
group from his residence in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Key Information: “The Base.” Southern Poverty Law Center,

https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/base (Accessed 21 November
2022):

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 Rinaldo Nazzaro, founder and leader of The Base, operates under the pseudonyms
Norman Spear and Roman Wolf. He cites Harold Covington and his “Northwest
Imperative” – a plan to forcible seize the Pacific Northwest and bring it under the
control of white supremacist militants – as inspiration for the group.

Though largely organized through encrypted online networks, members of The

Base meet in person to train with assault weapons and practice survivalist skills to
prepare for the race war they believe is imminent. Several members of the group
were arrested in late 2019 and early 2020 on charges of conspiring against the rights
of minorities, vandalism and conspiracy to commit murder.

Real estate records show Nazzaro lived in an expensive condo in Arlington,

Virginia, before moving to New York City, where he bought an apartment for more
than half a million dollars. He married a Russian woman in 2012. The couple
moved to Washington, D.C., and, in 2017, packed up and moved – now with two
daughters – to Russia. The family reportedly lives in an apartment in St. Petersburg.

Key Information: “The Base.” Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 16 April 2020,

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/the-base:

The Base wants to establish a nationwide network of people who believe in the use
of violence to overthrow the existing social and political order. The group sees non-
white people as enemies of the white race and envisions a coming race war, which
will be sparked by “non-European races.”

Members of The Base consider themselves survivalists focused on self-defense and

preparing for imminent chaos. The group’s founder, who goes by Norman Spear
and Roman Wolf online, was recently revealed by The Guardian to be American-
born Rinaldo Nazzaro, who is based in Russia. Nazzaro describes The Base on
Lone Wolf Radio as “kind of like a nationalist survivalist LinkedIn type of
thing.” In the same interview, Spear acknowledged the limitations of the virtual
space, saying, “There has to be more activism that occurs in real life to circumvent
the censorship that is occurring online.”

Highlighting the group’s move to on the ground activity: In January 2020,

authorities arrested seven men believed to be associated with The Base on various
murder, vandalism and gun charges.

On January 15, 2020, three Georgia men allegedly tied to The Base were arrested
on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and participation in a criminal gang,
according to arrest warrants and local reporting. One day later, on January 16,
2020, federal authorities arrested three men alleged to be members of The Base on
a variety of gun charges. All three had firearms and were planning to attend a
January 20 gun rally in Richmond, according to the F.B.I.

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 On Friday, January 17, 2020, authorities arrested a man in Oak Creek, Wisconsin,
and charged him with conspiracy to violate citizens’ rights to use property free from
threats or intimidation, according to court records. He is accused of vandalizing a
Racine, Wisconsin, synagogue and is believed to have coordinated efforts with
other members of The Base.

Imagery

Image 1. September 3, 2018: The Base allegedly held a real-world “camping trip” to practice
“bushcraft.” The photo below was posted immediately following the weekend, depicting four
individuals disguised with hoodies and masks
Source: The Base (Twitter).
Quote/Reposted: https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/the-base.

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 Image 2. Armed Members Giving Heil Hitler Salute holding the Eihwaz Runes Flag
The Runes signify Life, Death, Rebirth
Source: The Base (Social Media, Undated).
Reposted: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53128169.

Image 3. Rinaldo Nazarro Wearing Putin T Shirt with the Words ‘Russia, Absolute Power’
Source: The Base (YouTube, March 2019)
Reposted: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915.[1]

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 Image 4. Stanislav Shevchuk (RIM) in DC in 2017
Quote/Reposted: https://malcontentment.com/washingtons-defunct-atomwaffen-division-had-
deep-ties-to-the-terrorist-org-russia-imperialist-movement/.

Image 5. Atomwaffen Division (AWD) Members in 2018

Reposted: https://malcontentment.com/washingtons-defunct-atomwaffen-division-had-deep-ties-
to-the-terrorist-org-russia-imperialist-movement/.

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 Image 6. (@NormanSpear1 @TheBase_1) Suspended Twitter Accounts Post
Repost: https://twitter.com/funkIestein/status/1050365382589071360.

Image 7. Rinaldo Nizzaro in Telegram Video Release

Sourcing: https://www.et.tgstat.com/channel/@normanspear.
Repost: https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anj8w/russia-based-neo-nazi-terror-leader-offers-
training-to-american-far-right.

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 Image 8. Additional Rinaldo Nizzaro Online Activities
Note: Project Omega Comes across as ‘Benign’ Survivalism Training
Source: The Authors (2 December 2022)

Who: The leader of the neo-Nazi terrorist group The Base, Rinaldo Nazarro, an American
expatriate, and new Russian citizen residing in Russia, who virtually influences (via network
control) its activities in the United States.

What: The research note attempts to directly link Rinaldo Nazarro/The Base to the Russian
Imperial Movement (RIM) and/or one or more of its key personnel.

When: The linkages may have taken place prior to Rinaldo Nazarro’s departure to St. Petersburg,
Russia in Fall 2017 but would likely be more evident in the period right before/after the creation
of The Base in July 2018.

Where: The linkages may have taken place within the United States (physical meeting) or within
Russia or another country (physical meeting) or may have taken place online (virtually).

Why: That it is a coincidence that The Base was established by Rinaldo Nazarro in St. Petersburg,
Russia to influence (network control) neo-Nazi terrorist group attacks in the U.S. where the
Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) also operates and seeks to influence similar attacks is highly
unlikely. Further, following the January 2020 arrests of members of The Base for engaging in
terrorist activities in the U.S., the RIM was designated by the U.S. Department of State as a
Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization in April 2020 is also highly unlikely
to be coincidental. These correlations suggest that it is the probable RIM and The Base linkages

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that resulted in the RIM SDGT designation rather than “for [their] having provided training for
acts of terrorism”[2] documented to have taken place in Europe during the 2015-2017 period.

C/O Futures Analysis

An analysis of the potential links between The Base, a neo-Nazi terrorist group, and the Russian
Imperial Movement (RIM), a Putin regime activity tied into the Russian intelligence services, have
not in the past been addressed. Rather, Rinaldo Nazzaro’s identification as the founder of The Base
has primarily been the main focus of past reporting efforts. However, his residency in St.
Petersburg, Russia while directing The Base has raised more than one eyebrow related to Putin
regime acquiescence and its likely provision of indirect support to further his activities. To better
analyze Nazzaro’s relationship to Putin regime activities, refer to Table 1. Timeline of Key Events.
That table provides a chronological listing of reoccurring themes related to Nazzaro’s life. It also
highlights some of the activities pertaining to The Base and RIM for contextual purposes. With
regard to Nazzaro, four themes (Shifting Economic Fortunes, Paramilitary/Guerrilla Warfare
Expertise, Behavioral Shift, Neo-Nazi Radicalization & Promotion, and Russia/Putin Regime
Affinity) dominate:

Shifting Economic Fortunes: Between 2003 and 2014, Nazzaro appears to be on an upward
economic trajectory with housing purchases increasing in value and his military/security
contracting company performing as a viable business. In 2015, his economic fortunes
turned with the sale of his DC townhouse and his family having to move into his mother
and stepfather’s North Bergen, New Jersey apartment. The assumption is made that, by the
2015 period, his contracting company is no longer economically viable. This is followed
by his company and Nazzaro being sued over trademark infringement with the suit lost
(with no appeal made) in the post Fall 2017 period. The judgement represents another strike
against his economic viability. Yet, by this point he has already fled to St. Petersburg,
Russia, and by July 2018, lives in an upmarket property purchased in his wife’s name. It is
unknown if the purchase money came from his/his wife’s savings, via his family (his
mom), or by other means. Also, by in December 2018, he has enough excess savings to
purchase 30 acres of land in Washington state in order to create a planned neo-Nazi training
compound. Additionally, while claiming to take odd jobs such as teaching English to
support his family, in December 2020 he offers money to create a cadre of paramilitary
trainers of neo-Nazi members across the U.S. This suggests he somehow has enough
disposable income earned from his part time endeavors to fund terrorist activities which on
its own is highly unlikely.

Paramilitary/Guerrilla Warfare Expertise: As an entrepreneur, having dropped out of

college, he was able to create a post-9/11 contracting company, Omega Solutions
International (OSI), in the DC beltway and supposedly obtain contracts in support of the
Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Sometime from early 1999 on, he was able to gain
some knowledge of paramilitary knowledge, likely through reading and privatized training,
to be able to convince others that he was competent as a military/security contractor. His
activities are shadowy in nature which may be part of his narrative building (corporate
marketing) and/or he has some domestic and overseas private security contract time (rather

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 than subcontracting out to others). Various reports of Nazzaro contracting with the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Special Operations Command
(SOCOM) exist. Regardless, his public (media) persona is that of a paramilitary and
guerilla warfare expert.

Behavioral Shift, Neo-Nazi Radicalization & Promotion: Some sort of behavioral change
took place in Nazzaro by 2015 either triggered by economic pressures, overseas private
security experiences, and/or radicalization by an associate or group. Regardless, by
November-December 2016, while down in his economic fortunes, he begins to Tweet
White Separatism narratives as ‘Norman Spear’ and amasses a following on Twitter. In
2017, he advocates for the Northwest Front (a White Supremacist Group run by Harold
Covington in Washington state) and actively promotes a vision of “Leaderless Resistance.”
Having already relocated to St. Petersburg, Russia in July 2018, he founds The Base—a
neo-Nazi terrorist group—about the same time Harold Covington dies. The group uses an
online network platform approach to support/coordinate (via network control) White
Supremacist/neo-Nazi activities. The platform contains chat rooms, an encrypted
messaging app, and a PDF library of guerrilla warfare, weaponry, and PSYOPS manuals.
He then purchased 30 acres of remote land in Ferry County, Washington, for training
compound purposes, via Base Global, LLC in December 2018. In January 2019, he is
forced to relabel himself as ‘Roman Wolf’ on Twitter with his earlier account being
suspended. His successor account(s) are also eventually shut down with his then migrating
to Telegram and other platforms (e.g. BitTube). In December 2020, he appears in a
Telegram video promoting “Leaderless Resistance” once again for neo-Nazi groups and
offers to provide money for a cadre of paramilitary trainers in regions of the U.S. By March
2022, The Base made a statement that he had stepped down as its leader.

Russia/Putin Regime Affinity: In 2012, Nazzaro marries Lyudmila Sergreyeva in Manhattan

at St. Nicholas Cathedral (Russian Orthodox). She worked as a bank teller and at a travel
agency and had come to the U.S. in 2008 from Cheboksary, Russia. They go on to have two
daughters. In Fall 2017, he and his family move to Russia. He is said to have obtained
Russian citizenship and a passport (per Fontanka). In March 2018, he wears a T Shirt with
Vladimir Putin on it under which it says “Russia, Absolute Power.” When he founds The
Base in July 2018, he is living in St. Petersburg. In 2019, “Nazzaro was listed as a guest at
a Russian government security exhibition in Moscow, which ‘focused on the demonstration
of the results of state policy and achievements’.”(3) In November 2020, he appears on
Russia-24 U.S. Election coverage for propaganda purposes with his denial that he is a neo-
Nazi terrorist and leader. Black Lives Matter (BLM) and ANTIFA are demonized and the
Holocaust called into question in the newscast. He states “he was simply a family man
looking to provide survivalist training to willing Americans.”(4)

The reoccurring themes related to Rinaldo Nazzaro’s life take place parallel with the emergence
and expansion of the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM since 2002 and rise and fall of The Base
founded in July 2018 and dismembered via FBI arrests beginning in November 2019 and extending
into the early months of 2020). The Base’s goals of promoting neo-Nazi terrorism and insurrection

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in the United States align perfectly with those of the RIM which is a Putin regime program tied
into its intelligence services.

In the case of RIM, in 2015 it co-founds the World National Conservative Movement (WNCM), a
transnational movement ideologically aligned against the Western principles of ‘liberalism,
multiculturalism and tolerance.’ The group provides money and training to foreign neo-Nazi and
white supremacist groups linked to the WNCM. Further, “Stanislav Shevchuk, a Europe-based
representative of RIM, travelled to the United States in 2017 with the objective of establishing
connections between RIM and far-right extremist and white nationalist groups.”[5] Rinaldo
Nazzaro had already been overtly radicalized by November 2016 but no direct links between him
and Stanislav Shevchuk, other RIM leaders, or the group itself have been openly reported on from
2017 onward. When point blank asked about such links in October 2020:

Nazzaro denied allegations he was working for Russian intelligence and against the
U.S. “I am not a Russian agent,” Nazzaro told VICE News in response to the
allegations in October. “I have never had any contact with Russian law
enforcement, military, or intelligence officials.”[6]

It maybe plausible that Nazzaro had some online interactions with Matthew Heimbach
(Traditionalist Worker Party; TWP), who hosted Stanislav Shevchuk in 2017, or Atomwaffen
Division (AWD) leaders who were beginning to forge ties with RIM (in 2018 two AWD members
undertook their training in Russia) but such links are speculative. Even if we can accept that, until
just prior to the Fall of 2017 before Nazzaro left for Russia, he did not have any ties to RIM and/or
Russian intelligence (being cultivated as an asset), it is highly improbable that he could not have
material support by July 2018 to:

• Move with his Russian wife and daughters to St. Petersburg, Russia
• Gain Russian citizenship and a passport
• Live in an upscale central St. Petersburg property purchased in his wife’s name
• End up in the same city where the Royal Imperial Movement (RIM) is located and
ideologically align with their ‘hybrid warfare’ objectives
• Found The Base, a neo-Nazi network/group focused on engaging in terrorist acts in the U.S.

Also, after The Base was founded, we know that in 2019 it shared some members with the
Atomwaffen Division (AWD). That group’s cells began appearing in the U.S. in late 2015 and
early 2016 and, by the time it was sharing members, it already had some direct interactions with
the RIM.

That the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) should on 7 April 2020 be designated a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the U.S. State Department after the FBI dismantled The
Base’s U.S. terrorist cells some months prior is also suspect. While this designation was
proclaimed to be tied to “having provided training for acts of terrorism,” this has been interpreted
to mean in Europe. Thus:

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 In 2016, two Swedish individuals attended RIM’s training course; thereafter, they
committed a series of bombings in Gothenburg, Sweden, targeting a refugee shelter,
a shelter for asylum seekers, and a café, for which they were convicted in
Sweden. The Swedish prosecutor credited RIM for their terrorist radicalization and
relevant training. RIM has also provided paramilitary-style training to white
supremacists from Germany, Poland, and Finland.[7]

Far more plausibly, the designation resulted from the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) training camps
set up in the U.S, in 2019 with RIM train-the-trainer support—which likely co-trained some of
The Base members—coupled with The Base’s own paramilitary training activities followed by the
group’s beginning to engage in a domestic terrorism campaign in late 2019 that was broken up by
the FBI. This is potentially why for the “first time in history the Department has designated a white
supremacist terrorist group”[8], though this has never been stated publicly. Likely for SDGT
purposes and politically, RIM’s European terrorism links were only mentioned in the press
statement with no mention of The Base. Coincidentally, however, Public Safety Canada listed both
The Base and RIM simultaneously as terrorist groups on 3 February 2021. Additionally, the
Atomwaffen Division was also listed.[9]

Derived from cursory key word and image searches in English and Russian, no ‘smoking gun’
linkages between The Base and RIM or between Rinaldo Nazzaro and the RIM’s key actors have
been identified in this research note. Instead, the activities of Rinaldo Nazzaro would under such
circumstances be viewed as the use of a proxy—though deniable—by the RIM. This, in turn, would
follow the same protocol of the activities of the RIM being viewed as the use of a proxy—though
deniable—by the Russian intelligence services (i.e. Federal Security Service; FSB) which are in
turn tied directly back to the Putin regime (See Fig. 1). Such neo-Nazi terrorism promotion in the
U.S. would be considered a component of the Russian hybrid warfare strategy being conducted
globally. Additionally, the neo-Nazi terrorist group Atomwaffen must be considered linked into
this strategy though RIM associations with it were, while more visible, likely less pronounced.[10]

Fig 1. Neo-Nazi Terrorism Promotion in the U.S. A Component of Russian Hybrid Warfare Strategy
Source: The Authors

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That the Russian government would subsequently put Nazzaro on Russia-24 news in November
2020 for anti-U.S. election propaganda purposes is somewhat surreal as it further confirms the
special status granted to him by the regime. Still, in this research note, we can only conclude that
probable and logical links exist between Rinaldo Nazzaro and RIM. While some might frown on
the analogy, the use of the law enforcement duck aphorism—“If it looks like a duck, walks like a
duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck” is likely warranted.

Table 1. Timeline of Key Events Related to

Rinaldo Nazzaro (RN), The Base (TB), and Russian Imperial Movement (RIM)
DATE; ACTOR EVENT
Summer 1994; RN Drops out of Villanova University in Junior Year
Early 1999; RN Two Month National Defense Council Foundation Internship in
Alexandria, Virginia
2002; RN Forms Omega Solutions International-Post 9/11which is
incorporated in Virginia. OSI claims to be a “network of security
professionals” and states that “Our associates have worked with
various government and military agencies, including multiple
wartime deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan”
2002; RIM Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) founded in St. Petersburg,
Russia
2003; RN Purchases Belvedere Condo in Arlington, Virginia for $282,000. His
mother pays in cash via check
2007; RN Sells Belvedere Condo for $417,000
Buys Apartment for $585,000 in Jade, New York City
Omega Solutions International Reincorporated in New York
2012; RN Marries Lyudmila Sergreyeva in Manhattan at St. Nicholas
Cathedral (Russian Orthodox). She worked as a bank teller and at a
travel agency and had come to the US in 2008 from Cheboksary,
Russia
2014; RN The Family Buys N Street (just off Wisconsin Avenue) Washington,
DC Townhouse for $675,000
2014; RIM Sends Volunteers to the Donbas and Supports Putin’s Annexation of
Crimea
2015; RN The Family Sells DC Townhouse and Moves into Mother and
Stepfathers’ North Bergen, New Jersey Apartment
Behavioral Shift Noted in Nazzaro (Something Off)
2015; RIM Co-Founds World National Conservative Movement (WNCM), a
transnational movement ideologically aligned against the Western
principles of ‘liberalism, multiculturalism and tolerance.’ Provides
money and training to foreign neo-Nazi and white supremacist
groups linked to WNCM
Late 2015-2016 Atomwaffen Division (AWD)Cells Begin to Appear in the US
Fall 2016; RIM Two former members of the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM);
who were Swedish nationals, given paramilitary training by RIM

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November-December Tweet’s White Separatism narratives as ‘Norman Spear’ and amasses
2016; RN a following on Twitter
Late 2016/Early 2017; Two former members of the Nordic Resistance Movement (NRM)
RIM engage in terrorist bombings in Sweden
2017; RN Advocates for Northwest Front; White Supremacist Group run by
Harold Covington in Washington state.
Promotes a vision of “Leaderless Resistance”
2017; RIM “Stanislav Shevchuk, a Europe-based representative of RIM,
travelled to the United States in 2017 with the objective of
establishing connections between RIM and far-right extremist and
white nationalist groups.” (See Image 4)
Via Matthew Heimbach, Stanislav Shevchuk now has links to
Atomwaffen Division (AWD) Leaders
Fall 2017; RN Moves with Wife and Two Daughters to Russia
He Obtains Russian Citizenship and Passport (per Fontanka)
Begins to produce Neo-Nazi podcasts
Post-Fall 2017; RN OSI / Nazzaro Sued Over Trademark and Loses the Case (No Appeal)
2018; RIM Atomwaffen Division (AWD) Members Trained by RIM in Russia
and Set Up US Training Camps to Train Other Members (Image 5)
March 2018; RN In St. Petersburg wearing T Shirt with Vladimir Putin on it under
which it says “Russia, Absolute Power” (Image 3)
July 2018; RN Harold Covington, Founder of Northwest Front Dies
Founds ‘The Base.’ Uses a Network Platform approach to Support /
Coordinate White Supremacist/Neo-Nazi Activities. Chat rooms,
encrypted messaging app, PDF library of guerrilla warfare,
weaponry, and PSYOPS
Living in an upmarket property in central St Petersburg purchased in
his wife’s name
November 2018; RN Vice News exposé on The Base / Rinaldo Nazarro
‘Norman Spear’ account removed on Twitter (Image 6)
December 2018; RN Purchases 30 Acres of Remote Land in Ferry County, Washington,
for $33,000 via Base Global, LLC incorporated in Delaware in May.
Intends to Establish a Training Compound
January 2019; RN Now Tweet’s White Separatism narratives as ‘Roman Wolf’ on
Twitter
2019; RN “Nazzaro was listed as a guest at a Russian government security
exhibition in Moscow, which ‘focused on the demonstration of the
results of state policy and achievements’.”
LinkedIn profile under the name Aldo Condottiero (Italian for
“mercenary”)
2019; TB The Base and Atomwaffen Division (AWD) Share Members
Major FBI Counterterrorism Investigation into The Base Begins
July 2019; TB Undercover FBI Agent Infiltrates the Group (Vetted In)
September 2019; TB “Operation Kristallnacht.” The Base Graffiti appears on Synagogues
in Brooklawn, New Jersey; Hancock, Michigan; and Racine,
Wisconsin

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 November Eight Members in the U.S. arrested by the FBI with charges ranging
2019/January 2020; TB from conspiracy to commit vandalism through plotting to overthrow
the U.S. government and commit murder
April 2020; RIM The Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) Becomes a Specially
Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) by the US State Department
May 2020; RIM Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a US based neo-Nazi terrorist group,
established a new branch in Russia, ‘Russia AWD’ linked to RIM
November 2020; RN He appears on Russia-24 U.S. Election Coverage for Propaganda
purposes with him denying he is a neo-Nazi terrorist and leader.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Antifa are demonized and the
Holocaust called into question. He states “he was simply a family
man looking to provide survivalist training to willing Americans.”
December 2020; RN He appears in an online video on Telegram promoting neo-Nazi
“Leaderless Resistance” cells to create U.S. “System Collapse” and
offers money to create a cadre of paramilitary (terrorist) trainers
(Image 7)
February 2021; TB The Base designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian
Department of Public Safety
February 2021; RIM The RIM designated a terrorist entity by the Canadian
Department of Public Safety
February 2021 Atomwaffen Division (AWD) designated a terrorist entity by the
Canadian Department of Public Safety
March 2022; TB The Base states that Nazzaro stepped down as its leader
Selected Timeline Sources: “The Base.” Southern Poverty Law Center,
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/base (Accessed 21 November
2022), Daniel De Simone, Andrei Soshnikov & Ali Winston, “Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro
running US militant group The Base from Russia.” BBC News. 24 January 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915, Benjamin Wallace, “The Prep-School Nazi Before
he was Norman Spear, hate group founder and possible Russian asset Rinaldo Nazzaro was just
another Jersey boy.” Intelligencer. 30 March 2020,
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-base-norman-spear.html; Pamela
Ligouri Bunker and Robert J. Bunker, “The Russian Imperial Movement (RIM): A Putin Regime
Proxy Promoting Autocratic Terrorism and Insurgency.” C/O Futures Terrorism Research Note
Series. Claremont, CA: 7 August 2022: 1-17, https://www.cofutures.net/post/the-russian-
imperial-movement-rim-a-putin-regime-proxy-promoting-autocratic-terrorism-insurgency.

Keywords: Atomwaffen Division (ATD), Neo-Nazi, Putin Regime, Rinaldo Nazzaro, Russia,
Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), Terrorism, The Base, White National Conservative
Movement (WNCM), White Supremacist

References

“The Base.” Anti-Defamation League (ADL), 16 April 2020,

https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/the-base.

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“The Base.” Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University,
February 2021, https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/the-base.

Daniel De Simone, Andrei Soshnikov & Ali Winston, “Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running US
militant group The Base from Russia.” BBC News. 24 January 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915.

Daniel De Simone and Ali Winston, “Neo-Nazi militant group grooms teenagers.” BBC
News. 22 June 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53128169:

“The Base.” Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-

files/group/base (Accessed 21 November 2022).

Jason Wilson, “Revealed: the true identity of the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group.”
The Guardian. 23 January 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/23/revealed-the-
true-identity-of-the-leader-of-americas-neo-nazi-terror-group.

Endnotes

Specialized thanks to Kyle Grishow for his initial research on The Base which suggested that
Rinaldo Nazzaro’s neo-Nazi terrorist activities needed to be looked more deeply into.

[1] Another source, which appears more credible, dates the image earlier which is used in the
timeline: “In a video posted to YouTube by his wife from March 2018, he was wearing a
“Russia: Absolute Power” T-shirt with a picture of Putin on it.” Benjamin Wallace, “The Prep-
School Nazi Before he was Norman Spear, hate group founder and possible Russian asset
Rinaldo Nazzaro was just another Jersey boy.” Intelligencer. 30 March 2020,
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-base-norman-spear.html.

[2] “U.S. Sanctions Members of Russian Violent Extremist Group.” Press Release. Washington,
DC: US Department of the Treasury. 15 June 2022, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-
releases/jy0817.

[3] Daniel De Simone, Andrei Soshnikov & Ali Winston, “Neo-Nazi Rinaldo Nazzaro running
US militant group The Base from Russia.” BBC News. 24 January 2020,
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-51236915.

[4] Ben Makuch, “Russia-Based Neo-Nazi Terror Leader Offers Training To American Far
Right.” Vice News. 19 January 2021, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anj8w/russia-based-neo-
nazi-terror-leader-offers-training-to-american-far-right.

[5] U.S. Department of the Treasury, “U.S. Sanctions Members of Russian Violent Extremist
Group.” Press Release. 15 June 2022, https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy0817.

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[6] Ben Makuch, “Russia-Based Neo-Nazi Terror Leader Offers Training To American Far
Right.” Vice News. 19 January 2021, https://www.vice.com/en/article/3anj8w/russia-based-neo-
nazi-terror-leader-offers-training-to-american-far-right.

[7] United States Designates Russian Imperial Movement and Leaders as Global Terrorists. U.S.
Department of State. 7 April 2020, https://2017-2021.state.gov/united-states-designates-russian-
imperial-movement-and-leaders-as-global-terrorists/index.html.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Public Safety Canada, Currently listed entities, https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-

scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx#511.

[10] “Washington’s Defunct Atomwaffen Division had Deep Ties to the Terrorist Org, Russia
Imperialist Movement.” Malcontent News. 4 July 2022,
https://malcontentment.com/washingtons-defunct-atomwaffen-division-had-deep-ties-to-the-
terrorist-org-russia-imperialist-movement/.

Additional Reading

Pamela Ligouri Bunker and Robert J. Bunker, “The Russian Imperial Movement
(RIM): A Putin Regime Proxy Promoting Autocratic Terrorism and Insurgency.” C/O Futures
Terrorism Research Note Series. Claremont, CA: 7 August 2022: 1-17,
https://www.cofutures.net/post/the-russian-imperial-movement-rim-a-putin-regime-proxy-
promoting-autocratic-terrorism-insurgency.

Benjamin Wallace, “The Prep-School Nazi Before he was Norman Spear, hate
group founder and possible Russian asset Rinaldo Nazzaro was just another Jersey boy.”
Intelligencer. 30 March 2020, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/rinaldo-nazzaro-the-
base-norman-spear.html.

Biography

Dr. Robert J. Bunker is the director of research and analysis and a managing partner at C/O
Futures, LLC. An international security and counterterrorism professional, he was Futurist in

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Residence at the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Academy in Quantico, VA, and Minerva Chair at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) of the U.S.
Army War College, Carlisle, PA. He can be reached at docbunker@cofutures.net.

Pamela Ligouri Bunker is a managing partner, senior analyst, and majority shareholder of C/O
Futures, LLC. She is a researcher and analyst specializing in international security and terrorism
with an emphasis on narrative analysis. She is a former senior officer of the Counter-OPFOR
Corporation with professional experience in research and program coordination in university, non-
governmental organization (NGO), and local government settings. She can be reached at
pligouribunker@cofutures.net.

Recommended Citation

Robert J. Bunker and Pamela Ligouri Bunker, “Rinaldo Nazzaro, Leader of the Neo-Nazi
Terrorist Group—The Base: Probable Linkages to the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM).” C/O
Futures Terrorism Research Note Series. Claremont, CA: 7 December 2022: 1-19.

About C/O Futures, LLC

C/O Futures, LLC is a small business, located near to the renowned Claremont Colleges
consortium, that provides specialized research and analytical consulting and training services that
facilitate client knowledge solutions for addressing future socio-political and operational
environment shaping and response.

Our corporate mission is to further and protect liberal-democratic values and institutions—
both public and private—in the face of disruptive systemic level change taking place during
the transition from the modern to post-modern epochs of human civilization.

Website: https://www.cofutures.net

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