Fascist Fight Clubs in Trumpland
Sports Politika has identified more than 130 neo-Nazi fight clubs around the world. Some of these fight clubs are rallying in support of Trump's policies, emboldened by his return.

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Following Donald Trump’s inauguration this month, neo-Nazis trained in combat sports have rallied around the president’s promise of mass deportations. While some are engaging in targeted hate campaigns aimed at intimidating non-white immigrants into leaving the United States, others are openly calling for violence.
Driven by factions of the Active Club movement—a decentralized network of neo-Nazi fight clubs—these groups are organizing demonstrations and spreading graffiti to promote mass deportations. In California, the SoCal Active Club shared a post featuring an image, apparently from a Trump rally, edited to include the Celtic Cross—a hallmark of Active Club symbolism—on signs reading “MASS DEPORTATION NOW.” Meanwhile, NorCal Active Club shared a photo of members posing in front of graffiti bearing the same slogan.
The Tribal Active Club Arizona called on followers to “stoke the flames” of mass deportation in order to hold “leaders accountable from the local to the national level.” Others called on the U.S. to “close the border.”
“Resist replacement,” read one of the posts. “Connect now to join the fight.”
Meanwhile, members of the neo-Nazi Patriot Front group—another group that trains in combat sports—marched with anti-abortion activists at the 52nd annual ‘March for Life’ rally in Washington on Jan. 25.
This new wave of neo-Nazi activism and participation underscores their increasing integration into the current brand of right-wing politics, as well as their boldness in operating publicly as Trump returns to office. These groups also continue to grow at an alarming rate, further emphasizing how Trump is emboldening white supremacists around the world.
How did these Active Clubs rise to prominence? To understand the current surge of neo-Nazi fight clubs, it’s essential to explore the movement's purpose, the central role of combat sports, and the influence of its controversial founder.
The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of Robert Rundo
Robert Rundo rose to prominence in 2017 when he began instigating violence with those opposing their ultra-nationalist ideology at political rallies alongside members the Rise Above Movement—a California-based white supremacist group that touted itself as the “premier MMA fight club of the alt-right.” The group, which Rundo co-founded, infiltrated protests in Huntington Beach, Calif., Berkeley, Calif. and the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
While several of Rise Above Movement’s most prominent members were indicted on rioting charges related to the Unite The Right rally, Rundo’s case was dismissed and he left the United States to reside in Eastern Europe, where he began encouraging his followers to form their own “Active Clubs,” a term he coined to describe decentralized fascist fight clubs that prioritize physical preparedness for an upcoming revolution, identity formation, white supremacist activism, and the recruitment of disaffected white men to their cause.
Having learned from his previous mistakes with RAM, Rundo dictated that the clubs were to remain small and localized. This would make it more difficult for the media and law enforcement officials to shut down the entire operation.
“Even if the system and their dogs manage to put out one fire, it will lead to minimal results,” he wrote on the official Active Club Telegram channel in 2020.
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