Police in Estonia said a 13-year-old has been linked to an international hate group that advocates for a race war and has ties to terrorist plots.
Authorities said the child was a leader within the neo-Nazi group Feuerkrieg Division before he was contacted by police early this year and confronted about his online history, which includes him using the pseudonym “Commander” to communicate with the other members of the group.
Harrys Puusepp, spokesman for the Estonian Internal Security Service, told the Associated Press that authorities “intervened in early January because of a suspicion of danger” and stopped the teenager from continuing his activities with the Feuerkrieg Division.
“As the case dealt with a child under the age of 14, this person cannot be prosecuted under the criminal law and instead other legal methods must be used to eliminate the risk,” Puusepp said. “Cooperation between several authorities, and especially parents, is important to steer a child away from violent extremism.”
Feuerkrieg Division is affiliated with the better-known neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, a group based in the United States and tied to at least five alleged murders. Conor Climo, who was arrested last August, has also been tied to Feuerkrieg Division. Climo is a Las Vegas man who has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing after investigators said he planned to shoot up area synagogues and a gay bar.
Other key figures alleged to be part of the Atomwaffen Division were arrested in February after the FBI said they planned to intimidate journalists and activists.
Alar Ridamae, the Estonian security police’s bureau chief, said that adults need to be vigilant to prevent children from falling into extremist groups, which largely communicate using encrypted online communication platforms like Telegram and Wire. Ridamae said that parents need to be careful not to contribute to the radicalization.
“Unfortunately, in practice there are cases where parents themselves have bought extremist literature for their children, which contributes to radicalization,” Ridamae said.
The identity of the 13-year-old and the exact city where he was operating from have not been publicly revealed.
