The Antwerp correctional court sentenced a 24-year-old man named Daan C. to eight years in prison on Tuesday. He was the leader of an online neo-Nazi terror network.
The young man from Diependeek in Limburg has been sentenced to eight years in prison for leading the online neo-Nazi terror network Sturmjäger Division, VRT NWS reports. In this position, he spoke with far-right youths around the world, calling on them to commit attacks, the Antwerp correctional court found.
The Belgian State Security received the cell phone number of Daan C. from the Dutch security services in 2023. It had turned up in their investigation into The Base, which he was previously also a member of. This neo-Nazi movement was founded in 2018 by Rinaldo Nazzaro, an American living in Russia. The group is mainly active in the US but also has followers in the rest of the world.
According to the court, Daan C. drew inspiration from The Base. Both groups are followers of accelerationist ideology, a movement within right-wing extremism that strives for the establishment of a white ethnostate through acts of violence. They consider Muslims, Jews, people of colour and members of the LGBTQ+ community as the enemy.
Undercover investigation
An investigating judge was appointed and the data traffic of the Diepenbeek resident was analysed. Investigators discovered he managed the public chat group Sturmjäger Division on Telegram, with some two hundred followers around the world. Here, members shared neo-Nazi messages and extreme racist statements. Daan C. also ran several private group chats, in which he encouraged followers to take action and resort to violence.
The group was infiltrated by an undercover agent, leading to searches of the homes of Daan C., his girlfriend Kayley W. (22) and chat friend Christof S. (47) in November 2023. Here, investigators found Nazi flags, swastikas and materials for making pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails. Searches in other European countries led to the arrests of people who indicated online that they wanted to take action.
Daan C. was sentenced to eight years in prison and a fine of €12,000. Kayley W. received a 40-month prison sentence with probation, while Christopher S. was sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of €4,000.
