One Canadian man awaiting trial for terrorism charges related to the Atomwaffen Division is also alleged to be one of the pseudonymous authors of the collective’s manifestos.
Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Photo illustration created using an image taken from a Terrorgram publication.
The United Kingdom is slated to become the first country to add a collective of fascist content creators urging its supporters to carry out terrorist attacks in Europe and North America to its list of proscribed terrorist entities.
Titled the Terrorgram collective, it is an international network of individuals who espouse support for neo-Nazi and fascist ideologies, urging individuals to commit acts of terror. The RCMP has alleged that one man out of three Canadians facing terrorism charges related to the Atomwaffen Division is also a contributor to the collective.
According to a release from the UK Home Office, a draft proscription was laid against Terrorgram in Parliament on Monday. If passed, the designation would go into effect on April 26, making it a “criminal offence to belong to, invite support for, or in certain circumstances, display articles associated with the network.”
Some offences related to proscribed groups are punishable by up to 14 years in prison and could carry “an unlimited fine.”
“The Terrorgram collective spreads vile propaganda and aims to radicalize young people to conduct heinous terrorist acts. This is why we are outlawing membership or support for the group – we will not tolerate the promotion or encouragement of terrorism in the United Kingdom,” said Home Secretary James Cleverly in the release.
He added that this move would make Terrorgram the first online terrorist network to be proscribed.
Proscription would grant law enforcement the ability to compel tech companies and social media platforms to remove or block an organization’s online content for UK users, making it illegal to disseminate Terrorgram publications.
The Terrorgram collective is the sixth “extreme right-wing group,” a UK designation intended to separate mainstream right-wing beliefs from violent far and extreme right ideologies, to be proscribed. The Terrorgram collective will become the 81st group to be proscribed by the UK, including the Islamic State, Wagner Group, and National Action.
Terrorgram is a group of digital content creators espousing a violent National Socialist and accelerationist ideology. While they disseminate large amounts of violent propaganda, the collective is best known for four books that serve as both long-form, highly stylized zines and instruction manuals on targeting, planning and carrying out public attacks. Not dissimilar to publications produced by militant groups like the Islamic State, the collective’s publications not only urge people towards taking violent action but also provide readers with methods to produce weapons and hide online from those who would seek to expose them.
“They have previously published propaganda material designed to incite violence against ethnic and religious communities, with calls for antisemitic violence,” the release said. “Their propaganda also contains violent narratives that glorified the perpetrator of the 2022 Slovakia attack at an LGBTQ+ nightclub shooting, which resulted in the death of two people, who credited Terrorgram and its publications in his manifesto.”
The same shooter specifically mentioned a member of the Terrorgram collective, Pavol Beňadik, by his alias Slovakbro in his manifesto. Beňadik was sentenced to six years in prison for inciting the overthrow of the democratic system and acts of terrorism. He also reportedly published instructions for manufacturing home-produced firearms, explosives, and instructions for sabotage attacks.
A picture of Matthew Althorpe in 2019 retrieved from Instagram.
There have been three high-profile arrests of members of the Atomwaffen Division, specifically related to the production of propaganda. Of the three, Patrick MacDonald, Matthew Althorpe and Kristoffer Nippak, Althorpe specifically has been accused of producing manifestos for Terrorgram. While Atomwaffen was declared a terrorist entity in Canada in 2021, this is the first known case to include mention of Terrorgram in Canada.
While Nippak was granted bail with conditions, Althorpe, who is facing more charges than his alleged contemporary, remains in detention. A publication ban prevents any discussion of the evidence presented during the bail hearing.
“The RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) for GTA/Southwest conducted an 18-month investigation, executing several search warrants in the Niagara and Toronto regions,” the RCMP said in a release.
Althorpe is facing three counts of commissioning 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 Counseling the commission of a terrorism offence.
“These channels often distribute content on how to commit racially motivated violence and anti-government terrorism,” Queen’s University Professor of Religion Dr. Amar Amarasingam told the Canadian Anti-Hate Network in a previous statement. “They are closely linked with groups like Atomwaffen Division and The Base.”
Books from Terrorgram are typically written by multiple authors under pseudonyms.
Capitalizing on the “Terrorwave aesthetic” popularized by MacDonald and the since shuttered (and leaked) neo-Nazi Iron March forum, Amarasingam characterizes the genre as imagery dominated by “red, white, and black imagery, historical fascist figures, esoteric far-right symbols, and aggressive slogans.”
“Terrorgram’s own publications have included detailed instructions for attacking critical infrastructure. Their magazines often glorify white supremacist attacks and provide guidance on targeting infrastructure, minorities, public officials, journalists and so on.”
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