Aryan Freedom Network

The Aryan Freedom Network (AFN) is a nationwide neo-Nazi organization in the US that embraces antisemitic, racist and national socialist ideas. It seeks to promote its beliefs through online and offline propaganda dissemination as well as rallies against its perceived ideological opponents. Based in DeKalb, Texas, AFN frequently targets Jews, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community with violent and hateful rhetoric. There is also ample evidence to suggest that the group’s members are preparing for what they believe is a coming “racial holy war” that will destabilize US society. One of AFN’s key objectives is to position itself as an umbrella organization for the white nationalist movement. Since the beginning of 2024, AFN has absorbed several small and outdated white supremacist groups, which has allowed it to grow its influence and expand into new regions in the country.

Figure 1: The Aryan Freedom Network logo features a Totenkopf or “death’s head” which was used by Nazi Germany’s Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary units during World War II. After the war, white supremacists and neo-Nazis across the globe appropriated the symbol to signal their support for the beliefs and actions of both the SS and Nazi Germany.

Origins

The Aryan Freedom Network was established in 2018 as a white nationalist networking website. Advertised as a hub for white nationalists to share content with one another, the website offered information on different extremist groups, music from white power bands and links to buy white supremacist merchandise. According to research from the Anti-Defamation League, AFN’s website has gone through several different iterations, including acting as the webpage for the white supremacist Shield Wall Network, run by longtime neo-Nazi Billy Roper. In October 2021, AFN announced its transition to a full-fledged membership organization and began accepting new members in 2022. As of November 2024, AFN claimed to have a presence in at least 34 US states.

Figure 2: US states where AFN has a claimed presence as of November 2024.

AFN’s leadership has drawn from their extensive involvement with Ku Klux Klan (KKK) groups, racist skinheads and neo-Confederates to shape the organization into its current form. Co-leaders Dalton Henry Stout (aka “Brother Henry”) and Tonia Sue Berry (aka “Daisy Barr”) both have deep ties to the KKK. Before founding AFN as its president, Stout acted as the third Imperial Wizard (national leader) of the United White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Stout also reportedly led a skinhead group called “Texas State Skinheads” in 2018 and claimed to have been a member of the neo-Confederate group League of the South. In 2021, a Jewish hacktivist group claimed to have identified Stout’s father, George Bois Stout, as the leader of the Church of the Ku Klux Klan. Berry is the daughter of Jeff Berry, who, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, was the Imperial Wizard of the American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan from 1995 until his imprisonment in 2001.

Ideology

AFN seeks to re-order American society around hardline white supremacist beliefs while subjugating communities they consider illegitimate to second-class status. Among the demands outlined in AFN’s 14-point mission statement are calls for the establishment of an “autonomous White Aryan European homeland in North America” as well as an end to all “non-white immigration” into the US and other Western countries.

Although AFN frequently claims that it does not endorse or advocate violence, there is evidence to suggest that it is preparing for what it believes is a coming “racial holy war.” For instance, AFN frequently posts videos of its members conducting firearms training, promotes the accumulation of survivalist prepping materials and has sought donations for its own “Aryan Hall” compound. This is in line with AFN’s embracement of Christian Identity, a racist theology that the group uses to frame its struggle in apocalyptic terms.

Christian Identity

AFN heavily promotes Christian Identity to its members on its website, social media channels and during in-person events. Some Christian Identity followers, including AFN, embrace a fringe belief called the “dual seed-line doctrine” which posits that Jews are the demonic offspring of Satan and Eve. Conversely, white Europeans are considered to be the true descendants of the ‘Lost Tribes of Israel’ and thus are God’s chosen people. Adherents also refer to all non-white individuals as “mud peoples” that are devoid of souls. Christian Identity’s radical strain of antisemitism and predictions of a coming racial holy war have inspired some of its more militant followers to commit acts of domestic terrorism in the past.

The number of Christian Identity ministries and congregants has steadily declined since peaking in the 1980s, its most extreme beliefs continue to permeate throughout neo-Nazi accelerationist communities in the US today. Stout, AFN’s president, has promulgated his Christian Identity views on online white supremacist forums for years. AFN’s social media channels also frequently extol the teachings of influential Christian Identity figures such as Richard Butler of the Aryan Nations and Wesley Swift.

Antisemitism

AFN embraces the conspiratorial and antisemitic belief that a secret group of all-powerful Jewish elites control global institutions and Western governments. In the US context, AFN promotes the belief that Jews are chiefly responsible for directing the mass importation of non-white immigrants into the country to ethnically replace white Americans. This idea, which white supremacists commonly refer to as “white genocide”, is closely linked to the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory. It has inspired several racially motivated acts of terrorism in the US and across the globe.

Anti-LGBTQ+

The overwhelming majority of AFN’s protests have historically focused on Pride and LGBTQ+ events such as drag queen story hours. AFN’s online postings frequently promote the ‘groomer’ slur against members of the LGBTQ+ community. The group also labels individuals affiliated with LGBTQ+ events and causes as ‘pedophiles.’ Like many modern right-wing extremist groups, AFN views controversies surrounding LGBTQ+ issues as an expedient way to inject their radical worldviews into mainstream discourse and to recruit new members to their cause.

Activity and Tactics

AFN’s real-world activity consists of propaganda distribution (e.g. flyering and stickering), private gatherings to foster networking opportunities among members, and unannounced protests that predominantly target LGBTQ+ causes. AFN also provides opportunities for minors aged 14 – 17 to partake in its activities through its “Aryan Youth” branch, while women are offered supporting roles in the group’s “Valkyrie Division”.

AFN’s offline propaganda efforts typically take the form of flyer dissemination. Flyering is practiced by many white nationalist groups who view the tactic as a low-risk option to promote their message and recruit. AFN’s flyers, which the group offers for free on its website, include messages that advocate for white supremacy, antisemitism and national socialism. In 2024, AFN disseminated flyers in multiple states, including Georgia, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

Figure 3: Image of an AFN flyer found in Funk, Nebraska in August 2024. AFN typically spreads its flyers in plastic bags that are weighed down with different types of materials, in this case what appears to be sand.

AFN also holds private in-person events to unite competing factions within the white nationalist movement. In May 2024, AFN co-hosted its “Dixie Unity Rally” with the United Klan Nation (a Kentucky-based Klan group) in Scottsboro, Alabama. The event purportedly drew over 100 participants and included National Alliance members and racist skinheads. In October 2024, AFN hosted its second annual “Aryan Fest” in Lexington, Georgia to celebrate the organization’s three-year anniversary. Following the event, AFN claimed that several southern-based Active Clubs and racist skinheads were in attendance and that they participated in activities such as a boxing competition and a swastika lighting ceremony.

AFN has held anti-LGBTQ+ protests in multiple states, often in response to calls to action from influential anti-trans actors on mainstream social media platforms. During Pride Month in June 2024, AFN’s Illinois and Indiana chapters staged anti-LGBTQ+ rallies in Chicago and Indianapolis. In 2022 and 2023, AFN held several demonstrations against drag events in Texas, with members shouting anti-LGBTQ+ slurs at event attendees. During one such event, an AFN member was recorded reaching for a handgun holstered on his hip as he verbally clashed with counter protestors. While there have been no reported instances of AFN members being arrested during its anti-LGBTQ+ protests, their presence (especially if members are armed) increases the potential for violent escalations.

Figure 4: AFN members demonstrate against a Pride festival in Indianapolis, Indiana in June 2024.

Alleged AFN Member Engages in Criminal Activity

While AFN publicly asserts that the group does not endorse illegal activities, one alleged AFN member was arrested by the FBI in February 2024 on weapons charges and for expressing a desire to commit violence against his perceived enemies. Police alleged that Andrew David Munsinger, 40, of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, built firearms without serial numbers, eventually charging him with possession of ammunition as a felon. According to an affidavit from the FBI, Munsinger participated in several AFN-sponsored firearms trainings and attended the group’s first “Aryan Fest” event in October 2023. To date, AFN leadership has not publicly commented on Munsinger’s ties to the organization, though they did claim in an online post that they removed an informant who allegedly provided information that led to Munsinger’s arrest.

Emphasis on ‘White Unity’

Even before establishing itself as a formal membership organization, AFN has attempted to act as a unifying force within the white nationalist movement. This is in line with its stated goal of building a nationwide neo-Nazi organization in the US to spread its radical worldview to as wide an audience as possible.

ISD has observed self-identified AFN members interacting online and in-person with a variety of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups, including Active Clubs, racist skinheads, Klan groups, National Alliance members and the League of the South. Collaboration between disparate white nationalist groups is not uncommon; however, AFN’s outreach is notable because it views the strategy as an integral part of its efforts to rapidly grow the organization and there are some indications that the tactic has been effective.

Given both Stout and Berry’s extensive history with the KKK, AFN has offered membership to former Klan members since its earliest days. However, since January 2024, the group has also attempted to negotiate with smaller white nationalist groups, racist skinheads and “Pro-White Motorcycle Clubs” to merge under the AFN banner. Although difficult to assess whether these efforts have generated a significant increase in the group’s membership, ISD found evidence that the tactic has directly led to the creation of at least one new chapter in Utah. Additionally, since the beginning of 2024, AFN has added at least five new state chapters and announced plans to expand into New England and the West coast (two regions where the group has historically had a limited presence). AFN has boasted on several occasions that its outreach efforts have been successful, with its president recently claiming, “The position of AFN has expanded across the nation. Because of that result, we have expanded into new areas, created new chapters and regions.”

Timeline of AFN’s growth and expansion in 2023-2024:

July 2023: AFN welcomes former Klansmen.
December 2023: AFN welcomes former National Justice Party members.
December 2023: AFN welcomes “Pro-White Motorcycle Clubs”.
January 2024: AFN welcomes active and former members of skinhead crews.
January 2024: AFN announces Virginia chapter.
January 2024: AFN announces Alabama chapter.
March 2024: AFN announces the formation of its Utah chapter with the merger of a small neo-Nazi group.
April 2024: AFN announces Maryland chapter.
June 2024: AFN announces Nevada Chapter.
September 2024: AFN announces its intention to expand into New England and the West coast.
November 2024: AFN announces that a Mississippi-based Active Club merged with its organization.