Far-right extremists and neo-Nazis are celebrating Donald Trump's return to the White House, viewing the next four years as a chance to relax, organise, and capitalise on what they see as a resurgence of American fascism. In encrypted chatrooms, activists have expressed relief at the end of the Biden administration, which they said oversaw aggressive FBI crackdowns on right-wing groups and the January 6 investigations.
One neo-Nazi account on Telegram wrote: 'Be ready to cash out the next four years. Get the bag, infiltrate existing institutions with power, build new institutions while we have breathing room, and tear down anything leftist.' The post was viewed more than 1,000 times. Another prominent figure, a former member of the proscribed terrorist group the Base, urged followers to 'see the opportunity' in the coming years, citing the closure of the CBP One app and the cancellation of refugee flights as signs of progress.
The Base, which was subject to a major FBI crackdown that saw dozens of members arrested, released a photo of four members in Appalachia on inauguration day—the largest group photo of American members in over a year. The group's numbers are reportedly not shrinking. Meanwhile, the Aryan Freedom Network, a neo-Nazi political organisation, urged members to report companies hiring 'illegal aliens' to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), framing it as a way to 'stop the Great Replacement' and protect white working-class jobs.
Neo-Nazi 'active clubs'—mixed-martial arts collectives—have also mobilised, with chapters in California, Tennessee, Arizona, and Pennsylvania declaring they will pressure the administration to continue mass deportations. Joshua Fisher Birch, a terrorism analyst at the Counter Extremism Project, said these groups view the next four years as an opportunity to enlarge their movement, focusing on mass deportations to win recruits. However, he noted that their deep distrust of government and extreme antisemitism persists.
Accelerationist neo-Nazis, who advocate terrorism to collapse society, are also buoyed. While they remain cautious about fully emerging from the shadows, they celebrate the end of Democratic control. Elon Musk's controversial salute was dismissed by some as an ill-timed gesture, and Trump's pardon of 1,500 January 6 defendants on his first day further emboldened the far right.
