Guardian investigation reveals neo-Nazi leader owns land in Ferry County
A new report from the Guardian indicated the leader of an American neo-Nazi terror group owns land in north-central Washington.
According to the report by Jason Wilson, the leader and founder of “The Base” was identified as US-born Rinaldo Nazzaro, who has worked under several aliases like “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf.”
Rumors about the Base’s presence in the Inland Northwest began spreading in August when a left-wing activist group, Eugene Antifa, posted online saying members of the group were flying to Spokane from across the country to hold an event.
Eugene Antifa’s Tweet warned that members of The Base were planning to build a hate camp somewhere in Stevens County.
Through public records requests, the Guardian was able to obtain emails from the Stevens County Sheriff’s Brad Manke, in which he is found contacting the FBI and the Southern Poverty Law Center asking for advice on the group.
In the emails, Manke wrote that he was aware that members of The Base purchased property in nearby Ferry County.
According to the Guardian, a Delaware LLC called “Base Global” purchased three 10-acre blocks of undeveloped land for $33,000 in December 2018. Manke confirmed to the Guardian that this was the same parcel of land he mentioned in his emails.
Additional paperwork links Base Global to an apartment in New Jersey that reportedly belonged to a member of the Nazzaro family.
The Guardian report indicates that Nazzaro is running The Base while living with his wife in St. Petersburg, Russia, but has made trips to the U.S.. One of those trips included Nazzaro visiting Republic, Washington — which is located in Ferry County.
The Base is currently under investigation by the FBI. According to ABC News, the investigation has led to the arrests of seven alleged members in the last week.
ABC reported that three alleged members were arrested in Maryland and Delaware on federal gun and immigration charges. Three others were arrested in Georgia on state gang charges and conspiracy to commit murder, and another man was charged with conspiracy to vandalize a synagogue in Wisconsin.
Court documents obtained by ABC showed members of the neo-Nazi group recently plotted to attack police officers and civilians during a controversial gun rally in Richmond, Virginia.
According to the Guardian, Nazzaro, under his Norman Spear alias, told members of the group that he confirmed he was on the FBI terrorism watch list.
Read more about the Guardian’s report here.
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