Active Clubs—transnational networks of far-right fitness groups—are engaging in organized brawls in US forests. 

These “forest fights” are not inherently illegal—but they serve a larger purpose for Active Clubs focused on building camaraderie and recruiting members into a white nationalist ideology. ISD’s Jacob Wagner spoke to Newsweek about these fights competitions and the likelihood of law enforcement involvement.  

“Law enforcement may be reluctant to take significant action against these competitions unless they have evidence that members are clearly engaging in criminal or illegal activity.”

Jacob also described the challenges faced by law enforcement in their attempts to monitor these forest fights, which are usually originally advertised in Telegram chats. 

“One major hurdle law enforcement officials face in preparing for these events is that the clubs rarely advertise the locations of their private events ahead of time. The exact location is often only transmitted to vetted participants shortly before the event is set to take place, frustrating monitoring or disruption attempts by law enforcement.” 

The full article is available on Newsweek.