Energized neo-Nazis feel their moment has come as Trump changes everything

One week into Donald Trump’s second administration and the verdict among far-right activists and neo-Nazis is that the next four years will be a time to relax, organize and take advantage of the popular awakening of American fascism.

“Be ready to cash out the next four years,” wrote one delighted neo-Nazi account on Telegram, in a post viewed more than 1,000 times. “Get the bag, infiltrate existing institutions with power, build new institutions while we have breathing room, and tear down anything leftist.”

During the Biden administration, which presided over an FBI that aggressively dismantled rightwing extremist groups of every ilk, along with the gargantuan January 6 investigations netting thousands of suspects, anxiety on the far right ran high.

Even in chatrooms online, major tech companies booted and reported them to authorities, while mainstream culture vilified their racist antics.

But now, things are different. Elon Musk’s salute has been described in the media as merely an ill-timed gesture and Trump pardoned 1,500 people involved in the January 6 attack on day one of his presidency.

“The left is exhausted, extremely unpopular, and has been divested from by their tech bro backers,” the same post continued. “Now is the time to openly advocate for ourselves. Now is the time to go from defense and survival towards organizing and swift action.”

Among the accelerationist neo-Nazis, an extremist sect calling for acts of terrorism to bring down society, the feeling seems just as nonchalant. Their consensus is that while it’s not the moment to entirely come out of the shadows, it is a time to celebrate the end of a Democratic-controlled US government.

Posting on several social media apps, including the Kremlin-controlled VKontakte, the proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist group the Base took the day of Trump’s inauguration to subtly flex, releasing a photo of four stateside members somewhere in Appalachia – the largest number of American members in one photo in over a year.

Not long ago, the Base seemed dead. It was the subject of a major nationwide FBI crackdown, seeing more than a dozen of its members arrested for a laundry list of terrorist activities across the US and Europe. But in 2025, their numbers aren’t shrinking.

Another prominent neo-Nazi and New England-based former member of the Base told his followers on Telegram to “see the opportunity” in the next four years.

“South Americans are crying at the border as the CPB1 app is shut down, refugee flights are already being cancelled, Border Patrol is lined up at points of entry,” he posted. “These are products of organized political will on the system.”

He continued: “Of course we can do better, and that’s exactly what I’m advocating for.”

Other groups went further, pushing their own xenophobic and anti-immigration dreams and seizing on activist tactics to do it.

The Aryan Freedom Network, a neo-Nazi political organization with chapters all over the country, urged members to “find companies that are hiring or harboring illegal aliens and reporting them to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.

“In order for us all to stop the Great Replacement and to save the white working class jobs, every white nationalist must do their part to save white America!” it said, before posting contacts to Ice tip lines. “If you know of a company or individuals that is helping the Invaders, report them to the following links below.”

“Active clubs”neo-, which are neo-Nazi and racist mixed-martial arts collectives that have appeared at gyms and cities across the country, are also getting involved. Telegram posts affiliated with the movement have appeared from chapters in California, Tennessee, Arizona, Pennsylvania and other states in the US, declaring they will “pressure the incoming administration” to continue mass deportations.

“These groups see the next four years as a mix of positives and negatives but overall as an opportunity to enlarge their movement” said Joshua Fisher Birch, a terrorism analyst at the New York-based Counter Extremism Project.

“Extreme-right groups are focusing on mass deportations and seeking to win over potential recruits by concentrating on this issue.”

But Fisher Birch did note that “their deep distrust of the government and extreme antisemitism has not gone away”.

For years, those on the far right have seen Trump as a race traitor and a man with Jewish grandchildren through his daughter Ivanka and her marriage to Jared Kushner.

Fisher-Birch pointed to a Telegram post from one of the more followed neo-Nazis on the app, often a tastemaker for other far-right posters, and their acknowledgement of Trump’s shortcomings.

“It is wise IRL to not alienate people that you can gradually bring to your side,” said the account in a post seen more than 2,000 times to its followers. “Yes, point out where he’s not doing enough for normies but also give some credit where credit is due.

“In order to awaken white racial consciousness we have to be one of the people and speak their language, and continually push the boundaries and Overton window further and further until one day it reaches the baseline we need for radical change.”

As for Musk and his now infamous salute on inauguration day, there is a mixed opinion of him and big tech in general among the far-right.

“Several groups are enjoying fascism being in the public sphere and what they view as liberal and leftwing panic and distress over Musk’s salute,” said Fisher-Birch. “Several others have noted that they have not benefited from the alliance with big tech and that major social media platforms are still removing their content.”

Even so, there seems to be little debate that Musk’s gesture was a “Roman salute” (code for a “Sieg Heil” among neo-Nazis).

Christopher Pohlhaus, an ex-Marine and leader of the Blood Tribe neo-Nazi group, proudly wrote to his followers about an X post showing a video of a Nazi salute from a member in his group, juxtaposed with a video of Musk’s identical gesture.

“14 million views on this one,” he posted, before applauding his group for owning “the Roman salute and the swastika” in the news.

“Musk claims he was making a gesture symbolizing how his heart ‘went out’ to the crowd,” another account in the same far-right ecosystem posted facetiously.