Authorities Name Alleged Neo-Nazis Charged With Terrorism

The RCMP, Canada’s federal police force, have announced terrorism charges against two men accused of supporting the neo-Nazi movement—one of whom was the subject of a recently published VICE News investigation detailing his influence over the spread of neo-Nazism not just in Canada but internationally 

The arrests come after an 18-month investigation, according to an RCMP press release Friday. The press release does not name the two men but reads the two were involved in “the creation of Terrorgram Collective manifestos and Atomwaffen Division (AWD) recruiting videos, in support of far-right extremism and the neo-Nazi terrorist movement.”

According to arrest documents seen by VICE News, the men arrested are Kristoffer Nippak and Matthew Althorpe. Althorpe is facing eight counts, which include three counts of commission of hate crimes offences for a terrorist group, two counts of participation in the activities of a terrorist group, one count of facilitating terrorist activity, one count of instructing a person to carry out terrorist activity, and one count of counselling the commission of a terrorism offence. Nippak is just facing one charge of participation in the activities of a terrorist group.

The court documents say that from 2018 to the end of 2022, Althorpe was involved in the creation of terrorist propaganda and facilitating terrorist activity as both a member of Atomwaffen and Terrorgram. This includes knowingly instructing “a person to carry out a terrorist activity,” and “advocating genocide.” Nippak, the court documents say, “knowingly participated in or contributed to an activity of a terrorist group, namely the Atomwaffen Division… for the purpose of enhancing the ability of any terrorist group to facilitate or carry out a terrorist Activity.” RCMP O Division later confirmed the names to VICE News as well.

Sources have told VICE News that Nippak is currently in custody and was arrested earlier this week. A bail hearing was held for the pair this week however that hearing is under a publication ban. Due to the publication ban the RCMP said they could not comment further than confirming their names.

According to arresting documents that have been seen for VICE News, Nippak “knowingly participated in or contributed to an activity of a terrorist group, namely the Atomwaffen Division.” 

“Investigators uncovered evidence supporting criminal charges against two individuals,” reads the press release. “In 2021, Atomwaffen Division became a listed terrorist entity in Canada. After the listing, many former Atomwaffen Division members joined Active Club Canada. Members of Active Club Canada have been observed performing combat training exercises in local community parks, as pictured below. Members of the group have ties to a group called the Hammerskins in Durham region.”

For years, the 25-year-old Nippak has been spreading hate across Canada. Alongside Patrick MacDonald, a neo-Nazi who is also facing terrorism charges following a VICE News investigation, Nippak was involved in the Canadian cell of the notorious neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, which was designated a terrorist organization in 2021 by Canada. 

In July, MacDonald was charged with participating in the activity of a terrorist group, facilitating terrorist activity, and wilfully promoting hatred for a terrorist group. Just last month the RCMP would not confirm to VICE News if Nippak was a part of the investigation. 

Atomwaffen was built around the ideology of militant accelerationism, meaning its aim was to hasten the fall of society so members could build a white ethnostate out of the ashes. The extreme nature of the ideology and members led to the group being connected to multiple murders and other various crimes. A former member of the group told VICE News that he recalled Nippak's username and knew he was outside of the U.S.  

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The Terrorgram Collective, which both are accused of being a part of, is an online collection of militant accelerationsts who create work in the attempts to inspire terror attacks in the vein of Christchurch where 52 Muslims were killed by a neo-Nazi live streaming the attack. In October of 2022, a man in Bratislava shot up a LGBTQ nightclub, killing two before turning the gun on himself. In his manifesto he mentioned the collective by name—some researchers even believe that members of the collective even helped the neo-Nazi murderer write his manifesto.  

For the last several years, Nippak’s main project has been Active Clubs, neo-Nazi cells built around physical fitness and training martial arts. With 11 chapters currently active across Canada, it’s likely the fastest-growing neo-Nazi movement in the country. Sources told VICE News that Nippak is one of the driving forces behind the group’s spread across Canada. 

“This is his life,” this person, who was granted anonymity because of fear of safety, told VICE News. “It’s all he does.” 

It’s not just in Canada where Nippak has aided in the spread of Active Clubs. Nippak traveled to Scandinavia in 2022 and documented his travels under a pseudonym, where he aided neo-Nazi clubs in multiple countries and even was featured in some of their propaganda. 

Nippak did not respond to multiple requests for comment, nor did members of his family, for the investigation.