Race war preppers

Inside the private chats of The Base, a Neo-Nazi survivalist network gearing up for racial armageddon

When 11 Jews were gunned down at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, the alt-right greeted the news of the massacre with macabre celebrations, sick jokes and memes quoting the shooter’s final Gab post: “Screw your optics. I’m going in.”

But in the private chats of a nascent white separatist network known as the Base, a more serious discussion was taking place.

Members were mulling over what the killings meant for their long-term project of achieving a white “homeland” through armed struggle. “By presidential midterms things will be at a fever pitch,” a user named badman23 writes. “Political violence will get worse.”

“That should be considered a positive sign for us,” replied Norman Spear (alias), the founder and de facto leader of the group.

The word “acceleration” gets bandied about, most often by Norman, who foresees a chain of events that ultimately leads to collapse of the “System.” He predicts the imminent passage of gun control and hate speech laws, which will in turn drive radicalization and insurrection. “These are measures we should expect and even welcome as positive indicators,” he writes.