Feuerkrieg Division

Introduction

Feuerkrieg Division (“Firewar Division” or FKD) was a European, neo-Nazi offshoot of the U.S.-based Atomwaffen Division.* FKD was founded in 2018 and primarily existed online. Its members subscribed to an accelerationist philosophy that called for a race war to purge society of undesirables and eliminate existing political and social systems.*

In leaked chat transcripts, FKD members discussed plans for violent attacks and their hopes of a coming civil war. Members discussed how to build bombs and other methods of violent attack. In 2019, in retaliation for the arrest of one of its members in the United Kingdom, the group publicly released a list of police buildings and an image of a senior police officer with a gun to his head. FKD declared the officer to be a race traitor and called for attacks.* As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the United States in February 2020, FKD members spoke of the need to spread the virus among Black and Jewish people.* In February 2020, the group Eugene Antifa labeled FKD “a pressure cooker for potential terrorists.”*

FKD claimed to officially disband in February 2020.* In April 2020, Estonian police arrested a 13-year-old boy, identified only as “Commander,” who had allegedly created and led FKD.* In leaked online chat transcripts, Commander spoke about targeting Jewish schools in Estonia and killing Jewish children.* The United Kingdom proscribed the group as a terrorist organization in July 2020.*

Global authorities have continued to investigate and arrest FKD members. In April 2022, Danish authorities arrested a teenager on charges of joining FKD. At the age of 16 in May 2023, a Danish court sentenced the teenager to five-and-a-half years in prison for attempting to convince a classmate to join FKD and other acts of aiding the groups. The court found him not guilty of not guilty of joining the group with the intent to commit acts of terrorism.* In January 2023, a court sentenced 20-year-old Luca Benincasa, the self-declared FKD U.K. cell leader, to nine years and three months in prison. Benincasa had pleaded guilty to terrorism offences and possession of indecent images of children, including some as young as 4 years old. Prosecutors called Benincasa a key recruiter for FKD.* On March 21, 2023, U.S. authorities arrested Nicholas Welker in San Jose, California. Also known as “King ov Wrath,” Welker was charged with conspiring to make threatening statements. The Justice Department named Welker as the one-time leader of FKD. According to the Justice Department, Welker “used threats of violence in an effort to stop a journalist from reporting on the white supremacist hate group that he led.”*

Leadership

A 13-year-old boy in Estonia, identified only as “Commander,” created and led FKD until his arrest in April 2020.* The U.S. Department of Justice named Nicholas Welker as the one-time leader of FKD following his March 2023 arrest in California.*

Base of Operations

Global

Website

N/A

Membership Size and Relevance

FKD had between 30 and 80 members in more than 12 countries as of early 2020. FKD claimed to disband in February 2020.* The United Kingdom proscribed FKD as a terrorist group in July 2020.* In April 2021, U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin called on the U.S. government to designate more than a dozen foreign white supremacist groups as terrorist organizations, including FKD.*

Recruitment and Propaganda

FKD specifically targeted teenagers for recruitment and focused its recruitment on encrypted messaging apps.* The group’s alleged leader, known as Commander, was revealed to be a 13-year-old boy in Estonia.* Multiple FKD members have been revealed to be 14 to 16 years old. FKD members encouraged the recruitment of high school students for shootings and vandalism.* FKD required recruits to post propaganda posters and send photos to the group’s leader.*

FKD glorified American neo-Nazi James Mason, author of the pro-Nazi anthology Siege.*

Violent Activities

  • In January 2020, FKD members discussed online plans to join with other groups in attacking Jewish institutions in Croatia.*
  • In October 2019, an alleged FKD member in Lithuania left a bomb outside an office building in Vilnius. The bomb failed to explode, and police arrested the teenage suspect after finding bomb-making materials in his home.*
  • In September 2019, U.S. Army Private First-Class Jarrett William Smith provided information on explosives to an undercover FBI agent. Smith admitted in a plea agreement to disseminating instructions on building bombs. Smith told the agent he distributed explosives information “for the glory of his Satanist religion,” and sought to create societal chaos. Smith is reportedly involved with FKD at the time of his arrest. The group expressed “consternation” over Smith’s arrest on Telegram.*
  • On August 8, 2019, the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested Connor Climo after finding bomb components in his Las Vegas residence. Between May 2019 and July 15, 2019, Climo communicated online with FKD members about setting fire to a Las Vegas synagogue, and making Molotov cocktails and improvised explosive devices. Climo pleaded guilty in February 2020 to possession of bomb-making materials and plotting to attack Jewish and LGBT targets.*

Rhetoric

  • “White_powerstroke,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, February 2020: “It will most likely only focus on major metro areas, so areas with lots of niggers and kikes. If you guys contract this virus, you had BETTER spread that shit to every kike in your country”*
  • “Garzon,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, February 2020: “Greater than a thousand Bowers. Just go around big ten college campuses pounding every sorority yenta. Do it for your race.”*
  • “Dillion,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, 2020: “Kill all the Asians and Jews. They are the biggest threat. Jews internal. Chinese external.”*
  • Jarrett William Smith, a.k.a. Anti-Kosmic, leaked transcript of chat conversation, September 2019: “Buy a bottle of [redacted] and some [redacted] for [redacted]. Unscrew the lid of the bottle, and then insert [redacted]. Quickly screw the lid back on and either toss or roll it. It will blow in about 8-15 seconds like a grenade and it will leave behind a cloud of chlorine gas.”*
  • “Commander,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, August 2019: “so if i survive i’ll probably go kill a few yid kids too lmao”*
  • “Dylan D.,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, 2019: “Killing local police and federal authorities is seemingly pointless, much like cutting the head off a hydra. What we truly need to do is strike at the heart of the hydra and eliminate those who control them. Key figures, high level jews, policy makers, lobbyists and billionaire CEOs who hold massive sway over politicians via extortion, blackmail or bribery. High level or high value targets that wouldn’t have the kind of security that the federal government can supply.”*
  • “Dylan D.,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, 2019: “And that will come in die time when the trials and tribunals begin after we have regained control of our nation. They will all hang for treason, if they survive the civil war. That is our job now. Prepare for war because it is coming.”*
  • “Commander,” leaked transcript of chat conversation, undated: “The Order is quite similar to our organization too, you know that right?”*

Daily Dose

Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

Fact:

On October 7, 2023, Hamas invaded southern Israel where, in the space of eight hours, hundreds of armed terrorists perpetrated mass crimes of brutality, rape, and torture against men, women and children. In the biggest attack on Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, 1,200 were killed, and 251 were taken hostage into Gaza—where 101 remain. One year on, antisemitic incidents have increased by record numbers. 

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