Institute for Countering Digital Extremism

The Institute for Countering Digital Extremism ICDE is a non-profit think tank and consulting group dedicated to combating violent extremism and advancing counterterrorism strategies in the digital age.

This Digital Trend Alert is attached to multiple ongoing investigations. For additional details please contact us at info@counteringextremism.org.

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ICDE advises all investigators and prevention practitioners to review current cases and clients for associations with the named networks above and look for increased agitation or "going dark" behaviors ahead of the January 22nd date.

Beyond these incidents, ICDE has noted a considerable uptick in NVE activity across TN. As with all attack anniversaries, the risk of a copy cat attack are considerably higher than other days.

-ICDE notes that this is a response that some True Crime Community (TCC) adherents will use to avoid law enforcement scrutiny. This assessment does not assign TCC intentions or association to the individual interviewed by Nashville Police.

On December 26 and January 9, 2025, an individual trespassed and filmed overnight on the grounds of the Covenant School where Solomon Henderson conducted an NVE-driven school shooting on January 22, 2025.

-Identified by Nashville Police, the individual claimed a "journalistic" interest.

-In collaboration with local law enforcement and school personnel, ICDE supported a successful intervention with the student and put them on a track towards prevention support.

-However, a local network was also identified, raising concerns that the threat is not fully mitigated.

-A subsequent investigation by ICDE revealed that the student was also deeply involved in online nihilistic violent extremism (NVE) networks such as: Columbine fandom, Maniac Murder Cult, No Lives Matter, Tempel ov Blood, Order of Nine Angles, and more.

The Institute for Countering Digital Extremism ICDE is a non-profit think tank and consulting group dedicated to combating violent extremism and advancing counterterrorism strategies in the digital age.

Recent threats and offline activity in Nashville is raising concerns about the January 22nd anniversary of the Antioch High School shooting.

-In December 2025, a local Nashville school was the victim of a hack that doxxed a student and revealed their 764-associated activities.

Complicating Convergence: A Micro-Ethnography of Neo-Fascist Accelerationist Views of Militant Islam on Terrorgram Over the past two decades, scholars have elucidated the ideological convergence between elements of the far-right and militant Islam. Yet these prior evaluations have focused primarily on shared na...

ARC Fellow Samantha Olson's recently published article helps highlight the complex evaluations that result when neo-fascist accelerationists are inspired by militant Islam.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Institute for Countering Digital Extremism ICDE is a non-profit think tank and consulting group dedicated to combating violent extremism and advancing counterterrorism strategies in the digital age.

For future reports, please sign up for our newsletter at www.counteringextremism.org

Westman represents a growing trend within targeted violence wherein individuals attack an apparent symbolic target (though likely driven more by personal grievance with the target) and have little to no specific ideological motivation for the attack nor the target.

ICDE identified numerous indicators associated with militant accelerationism Saints, NVE, mass shooter fixation, antinatalism and efilism, and other forms of targeted violence such as glorification of Luigi Mangione and Guy Bartkus.

A YouTube account that appears to be associated with Westman had two relevant videos detailing a targeted violence manifesto written in Cyrillic and a walk through of Westman’s weaponry covered in references in white lettering--the same as the Christchurch and Buffalo terrorists’ weapons.

Westman was motivated by numerous violent extremist and targeted violence influences and should be considered a violent actor who was heavily motivated by militant accelerationism mass shooter culture. They were potentially connected to nihilistic violent extremism (NVE) ecosystems online.

ICDE analysis of the attacker’s digital footprint and targeted violence manifesto highlighted how Westman had no single or clear ideological motivation.

Annunciation Catholic School Shooting — ARC Minneapolis high school shooting suspect was motivated by numerous violent extremist and targeted violence influences. On August 27, 2025, an individual carried out a mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, MN resulting in 2 dead and 17 injured. The shooter died of a

On August 27, 2025, Robin Westman, 23-years-old, carried out a mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, MN resulting in 2 dead and 17 injured. The shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

www.accresearch.org/arc-intellig...

Nihilistic online networks groom minors to commit harm. Her son was one of them When Dana's son was hospitalized last year, it led her to a path of discovery about predatory online networks that groom children into harming themselves and others. Their reach is global and growing.

NPR's @oyousef.bsky.social covers the story of a mother determined to save her son from nihilistic violent extremists and the struggles she faced finding providers who understood the signals and risks. Our Executive Director @mattkriner.bsky.social provides context

www.npr.org/2025/08/06/n...

From “Clean Beauty” to Extremism: Sunscreen Truthers and Their Conspiracy Theories The rise of “sunscreen truthers” on social and extremist platforms is fueling dangerous conspiracy theories rooted in chemophobia, pseudoscience, and antisemitism. This deep dive unpacks how clean bea...

Want to know why beliefs that sunscreen is bad for you feed into larger conspiracies and misinformation? This article, featuring expert commentary from ARC Fellow @bdaviess.bsky.social, helps explain.

beautymatter.com/articles/big...

ICDE's Executive Director @mattkriner.bsky.social is testifying for the Crown today in the sentencing hearing for Atomwaffen's "Dark Foreigner."

Follow @antihate.ca for updates.

New post from our ARC initiative

ICDE is working with the tech sector and law enforcement to stop this threat.

Help support our work here: www.every.org/icde

FBI has opened 250 investigations tied to violent online network '764' that preys on teens, top official says The FBI has more than 250 investigations underway into the network of violent predators known as "764," FBI Assistant Director David Scott says in an exclusive interview.

“The FBI has more than 250 [764] investigations currently underway, with every single one of its 55 field offices across the country handling a 764-related case”

abcnews-go-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/abcnews....

Please reach out if you’d like to learn more about our work. We’re looking for support to continue to expand our operations and protect vulnerable communities from predators like the 764 network.

764 is a nihilistic violent extremist network that preys on our kids. ICDE was founded to combat these types of extreme online harms, and we are actively working with tech companies and law enforcement to continue to disrupt 764's ability to operate across multiple popular platforms.

San Fernando Valley Man Arrested for Allegedly Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material Tied to Online Violent Network Known as ‘764’ A California man was arrested on a federal criminal complaint alleging that he targeted children for sexual exploitation online as part of his role in an online violent network that seeks to accelerat...

Very encouraging news to wrap the week. The DOJ announced yet another arrest in their campaign to hold members of the 764 network accountable for their crimes.

764 is a nihilistic violent extremist network that preys on our kids.

The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram | FRONTLINE FRONTLINE and ProPublica investigate how an online network known as Terrorgram spread extremism and violence.

Tonight night on PBS at 10pm ET, check out "The Rise and Fall of Terrorgram," featuring expert analysis from @icde.bsky.social's Executive Director @mattkriner.bsky.social. The episode will also be on PBS' Frontline website and their Youtube channels.
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontli...

The Institute for Countering Digital Extremism ICDE is a non-profit think tank and consulting group dedicated to combating violent extremism and advancing counterterrorism strategies in the digital age.

#DigitalExtremism #CounterTerrorism #ThinkTank #ICDE

The Institute for Countering Digital Extremism ICDE is a non-profit think tank and consulting group dedicated to combating violent extremism and advancing counterterrorism strategies in the digital age.

📢 Announcing the launch of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism (ICDE)!

📢 ICDE is a non-profit think tank and consulting group dedicated to combating violent extremism and advancing counterterrorism strategies in the digital age.

Learn more at www.counteringextremism.org