- Britain's first active club is said to have been established in Scotland last year.
Far-right activists are setting up a secret network of martial arts and fitness clubs across the UK with the aim of recruiting young people to fascism, a new report has revealed.
Clubs have proliferated across the country in the last year, influenced by an international trend to create small fascist martial arts organizations that go by the name “active clubs.”
According to anti-racism advocacy group Hope Not Hate, some of the network's members include people who have made bomb threats in the past or marched with the now-banned Nazi terrorist group National Action. It is also included.
One of the clubs that surfaced, Active Clubs Scotland (ACS), released a propaganda video in May last year, the group's report on the state of hate in 2024 found. This will be the first explicit branch of the Active Club Network in the UK.
The club aims to increase the combat readiness of its members for an imagined future of interethnic conflict and potential fascist revolution.
This comes after a record number of far-right activists and their sympathizers were convicted of terrorist crimes last year. A total of 23 people were convicted, with an average age of 32, but there were also four teenagers.
The report revealed that the Gaza conflict had caused a huge rise in anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim hatred in the UK. However, the war has divided the far right.
Mark Griffin, former leader of the British National Party, and Mark Collett of Patriotic Alternative have taken pro-Palestinian positions and attacked “Zionist” influence.
Meanwhile, anti-Muslim activist Tommy Robinson (real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon) takes a pro-Israel stance and is holding protests against the pro-Palestinian marches.
The network targets young men through online channels such as Telegram, where members are encouraged to set up their own clubs. They try to remain anonymous by blurring their faces and certain features in all videos and images.
ACS members train at the Evo gym in Stirling and record propaganda videos for the channel. One of the members' girlfriends, Sean Caldwell (aka Sean McAlonan), is known to work out there.
According to investigative website The Ferret, Caldwell previously posted photos of himself giving a Nazi salute and posing with a sword.
Investigations revealed the suspect said he was ready for “guerrilla warfare” and claimed he was sending “militia” to replace “ex-military personnel” in the Forth Valley.
The former Patriotic Alternative Movement activist reportedly enlisted in the Army Reserve and wrote online in August 2021, “I am in the military and will be in the military again soon.”
But the owner of a gym in Stirling defended the group, telling Hope Not Hate: “It doesn't look like far-right propaganda to me, it's just guys training.” He added that he had known one of the members “for years.”
Active Clubs first emerged in America and then spread across Europe after far-right activist Robert Rand came up with the concept after being inspired by California's Firelight Street Fight group.
Hope Not Hate reports that the group believes physical exertion and hardship are necessary to prove national beliefs and realize ultra-masculine ideals. .
ACS's motto is “Tribe and Discipline” and it tries to downplay its politics online, the report said.
The first Telegram message posted on that channel read: “We have no intention of doing any political work or engaging in the nonsense that is currently plaguing the right-wing, souls of our country. ” [sic] The objective is to form a tribe and create a strong band of brothers to train. ”
Most groups have been seen using fascist imagery and slogans, although direct calls for violence and terrorism have been blocked and criticized by network leaders.
In other cases, members have defaced anti-fascist or progressive posters. ACS also forwarded a message from its Telegram channel that referred to the “14 Words” slogan frequently used by white supremacists.
The Active Club's worldview is said to stem from a “white victim mentality'' and “attacks from political opponents,'' which are used to motivate new employees. He claims to deny the “easy life of sitting in front of the TV on a cold winter night.”
Patrick Hermansson, senior researcher at HOPE not hat, said: “Active clubs aim to increase the far-right's capacity for violence and identify enemies such as the left and minorities.”
Despite appearing apolitical, they link personal improvement and community to far-right ideology, making them sites of radicalization. Just scratch the surface and you'll see that they subscribe to extreme and violent ideologies.
Active Clubs Scotland is particularly concerned that members have a history of violence or membership in extreme fascist groups. ”
Following the report, ACS told The Times: “AC Scotland's purpose is to promote a healthy counterculture of athletics, honor and identity.” We reject violence of any kind and have a code of conduct that prohibits it.
“Our club's activities aim to develop better men and fathers and build lasting friendships. We do not trample on others and focus on the principles of self-improvement. Above all We are also law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
“In your article, you unfairly accuse ACS of having members who do not belong to our club. , including those who previously belonged to prohibited organizations such as National Action.'' Members who violate our Code of Conduct will not be tolerated within our organization. ”
Caldwell did not respond further to the paper's request.
