Neo-Nazi Active Clubs Conduct Combat Training at Secret Virginia Compound
Militant neo-Nazi active clubs from across the United States have been participating in riot-style combat events at a secretive compound in Virginia, according to a recent investigation. These gatherings involve multiple white nationalist groups, including the Wolves of Vinland, which the Southern Poverty Law Center identifies as a neopagan white nationalist hate group. Experts are warning that these coordinated activities pose a significant threat to public safety.
Network of White Supremacist Groups Converges in Lynchburg
Social media posts and group chats reveal that members of active clubs from Texas, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania have traveled to Lynchburg, Virginia, in recent weeks and months to train together. The compound is operated by the Wolves of Vinland, with additional participation from the white supremacist Patriot Front and the neo-Nazi skinhead group known as the Hammerskins. Active clubs, founded by violent neo-Nazi Robert Rundo, represent a loose network of localized white supremacist groups that blend rightwing extremism with fitness and combat sports to recruit and radicalize members.
On December 6, members of active clubs from Texas and Tennessee, along with Patriot Front and the Wolves, engaged in an eight-versus-eight brawl at the neopagan group's Lynchburg compound, as documented in photos and videos posted to public and private social media. The weekend also included networking and joint training sessions at Devotion Jiu-Jitsu, an on-site grappling gym affiliated with the Wolves.
Participants Include Licensed Professionals and First Responders
The Guardian's investigation identified several participants in the Virginia gatherings, raising concerns about their roles in society. These individuals include:
- Logan Florence, a licensed school teacher and massage therapist from Georgia, whose teaching license remains active according to state records. After being contacted for comment, Florence wiped his Instagram account content before deleting it.
- Joshua Hunt, a former police officer from Charleston, West Virginia, who now operates Appalachian Submission Grappling, a gym catering significantly to small children. Hunt described the Virginia brawl as "the most fun I've had in my life" in an Instagram comment.
- Tristan Rettke, a registered emergency medical technician in Tennessee and member of Patriot Front, involved in the group's attempts to launder its reputation through Texas flood relief efforts.
- Marston Sneddon, son of prominent anti-abortion activist Leslie Sneddon, who has refereed cage fights involving teenage boys in Lynchburg.
- Avery Ross Ruiz, head of the Russian street fight organization Streets Fights Club's US expansion, who pleaded guilty to felony burglary in 2022.
Expert Warnings About Coordinated Extremist Threat
Alexander Ritzmann, a senior adviser with the Counter Extremism Project, has studied active clubs extensively and warns that their objective is to create a "standby militia of trained and capable" rightwing extremists. He notes that Rundo's rhetoric has recently aimed to "harmonize and accelerate its evolution," emphasizing mainstream appearances, fitness-as-recruitment, and infrastructure-building as central objectives.
"This combined message – lay low, build quietly, harden your community – is shaping active club activities across multiple countries," Ritzmann told the Guardian. "This potentially turns a once loosely connected movement into a more disciplined, goal-driven network."
In a blogpost, Rundo testified to the value of these group gatherings, calling the fights "the modern equivalents of that vital hardening" and describing them as "a tip-off point for a fascist cultural revolution."
Continued Activities and Intimidation Tactics
On March 7, members of multiple active clubs and white nationalist groups again converged on the Wolves' Virginia compound for training, fighting, and networking. The event featured teams with names like "Confederation of American Natives," "Tribal Lands," and "Koryos" – the latter referencing the Proto-Indo-European word for army.
Paul Waggener, founder of the Wolves of Vinland, has recently fully endorsed the active club movement, stating in a podcast appearance: "All the active clubs that are out there are doing positive stuff to the young guys, and they have been for a long time now." He also suggested he would physically assault journalists who cover the Wolves if given the opportunity, complaining that reporting on his group could cost them their livelihoods.
The active club movement has recently attempted to intimidate journalists, with members of a Montreal-area group showing up at a music club to confront Canadian journalist Rachel Gilmore after she reported on their activities.
International Concerns and Law Enforcement Attention
Security officials in Canada and Germany have warned that active clubs represent potentially violent threats to public safety. In Germany, one active club was raided on suspicion of illegal firearms possession. In January, the FBI linked multiple Tennessee active club affiliates to white supremacist efforts to start an armed paramilitary unit.
Since the December and March gatherings, active club and Wolves members have continued to deepen their ties. The mixed group that fought under the name Koryos traveled to South Carolina in late March to participate in a fight tournament organized by Patriot Front, according to social media posts.
Shane Burley, a journalist and author who has studied the Wolves, describes them as "a heathen biker gang" that practices a form of "racialized paganism." He notes that every Wolves member is required "to come when called and to engage in violence at any moment," highlighting the organized nature of the threat these groups represent.
