Rinaldo Nazzaro

Rinaldo Nazzaro, operating under the alias "Norman Spear," is a New Jersey-born American who worked in U.S. government intelligence and national security roles before founding The Base in 2018. He built the network as a clandestine paramilitary organization explicitly modeled on jihadist cell structures, using encrypted platforms to recruit, vet, and organize members across the United States and internationally, while directing operations from St. Petersburg, Russia. His identity remained publicly unknown until January 2020, when The Guardian published an investigation identifying him as Nazzaro following the FBI's first wave of arrests of Base members. He has not been publicly charged in the United States as of 2026.¹

Biographical Background

Nazzaro was born in 1973 or 1974 and raised in New Jersey. He attended Delbarton School, a Catholic preparatory school in Morristown, NJ, graduating in 1991. He enrolled at Villanova University as a philosophy major in 1991 and withdrew before graduating in 1994, using the name Ronald Nazzaro in university records. In 1999, he completed an internship at the National Defense Council Foundation, a Washington, D.C., defense policy organization. He held an address in North Bergen, NJ, and later a New York City address associated with his contracting firm. In 2012 he married a Russian national. He relocated to Russia with his family in 2017 or 2018 and obtained Russian citizenship in approximately 2017.¹⁸

National Security Background

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed that Nazzaro worked within DHS Intelligence Analysis from 2004 to 2006, coordinating anti-terrorism initiatives. A departmental letter on record thanks him for his "personal work" on DHS Intelligence Analysis operations. The U.S. Marine Corps issued a letter recognizing his work as an intelligence professional, crediting him with "impressive understanding of the insurgency in Afghanistan" and responsibility for thirteen enemy casualties.

Nazzaro also claimed, in encrypted communications later obtained by investigators, that he completed "multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan over five years" as a private contractor, working at Victory Base Complex near Baghdad Airport and Camp Speicher in northern Iraq, and that he served as "a targeteer" who "did target packages" and "supported deliberate clearing ops." He described himself as having briefed special forces officers on military targeting and counterterrorism in 2014 in connection with Special Operations Command (SOCOM). The Pentagon declined to confirm the SOCOM claim when queried.³

Before moving to Russia, Nazzaro registered a company in New York called Omega Solutions International, described in its own marketing as offering access to "a network of security professionals" with expertise in intelligence, counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, and psychological operations; the company was cleared by the federal government for defense contracting. After responses to The Guardian's investigation, Nazzaro stated: "I can neither confirm nor deny my work experience."³

Omega Solutions International: Corporate Record

Nazzaro operated a New York limited liability company called Omega Solutions International LLC, doing business as OSI Division, from at least 2009. The company was registered in New York and holds state entity number 3860294 in the NY Department of State database. OSI obtained federal Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) code 61PL9 on June 24, 2010, and maintained a System for Award Management (SAM) vendor profile under DUNS number 962794702. The company's address was 244 Fifth Avenue, Suite N230, New York, NY 10001. Nazzaro registered OSI as a foreign entity in the District of Columbia as well.

OSI marketed a proprietary software product called WATCHTOWER, described in its USPTO trademark filing (serial number 86974351, registration number 5370774) as "downloadable cloud-based and client-based server software for providing unified operational intelligence awareness to command centers and intelligence analysts via automated information sharing and data processing." OSI's first use of the WATCHTOWER mark in commerce was December 1, 2008. The CAGE code expired February 15, 2022 and was not renewed.

No prime contract awards appear in public contracting databases for OSI or DUNS 962794702. A series of six FOIA requests filed by journalist Jason Wilson in January 2020 to the CIA, Defense Contract Management Agency, Department of Defense, Department of Justice National Security Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and State Department returned no responsive contract documents from any agency. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) public affairs officer Ken McGraw specifically stated SOCOM could find no record of a contractor named Nazzaro briefing special forces leaders in 2014 and confirmed SOCOM held no contracts with Omega Solutions. The absence of DCMA and SOCOM prime contracts does not rule out subcontract arrangements routed through prime contractors, which are not indexed in public databases.²

DHS Intelligence Analysis Employment

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed, through an unnamed spokesperson, that "Rinaldo Nazzaro worked at DHS from 2004 to 2006." Nazzaro posted a letter he attributed to DHS that referenced his work in "DHS/Intelligence Analysis," language consistent with the Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A), the DHS component responsible for terrorism-related intelligence analysis and information sharing. DHS would not authenticate the letter he displayed. No FOIA-released DHS personnel file or position description has appeared in open sources. No specific job title has been publicly disclosed by DHS, and no congressional oversight record confirms the specific component or clearance level associated with his employment there.¹⁹

The DHS Office of Intelligence and Analysis was formalized following the Second Stage Review reorganization of DHS in July 2005; Nazzaro's employment (2004-2006) spans the period of the office's initial standup and early operations under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. Congressional oversight of I&A during this period was active but focused on information-sharing architecture and coordination with the National Counterterrorism Center rather than individual personnel.²⁰

SOCOM Contractor Claims

In encrypted communications later obtained by investigators and reviewed by journalists, Nazzaro described himself as completing "multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan over five years" as a private contractor, working at Victory Base Complex near Baghdad Airport and Camp Speicher in northern Iraq, serving as "a targeteer" who "did target packages" and "supported deliberate clearing ops," and briefing special forces officers on military targeting and counterterrorism in 2014. The Pentagon, when queried, responded only that it could not comment on ongoing investigations. SOCOM's Ken McGraw provided the more specific denial noted above.⁵

A U.S. Marine Corps letter Nazzaro displayed credited him as an "intelligence professional" with "impressive understanding of the insurgency in Afghanistan" and attributed responsibility for thirteen enemy casualties to his work. DHS confirmed employment; the Marine Corps letter's authenticity was not independently verified by press outlets.

The Base and Operational Direction

Nazzaro designed The Base to function as a disciplined vetting-based organization rather than a loose ideological movement. Prospective members contacted the network through encrypted channels and underwent vetting interviews, in which Nazzaro or senior members assessed ideological commitment and willingness to commit violence. Members who passed were expected to attend in-person training events, described in FBI documents as "hate camps", where they practiced firearms handling and survival techniques.

Nazzaro operated under the alias "Norman Spear" and directed recruitment through The Base's encrypted channels. He communicated directly with members across the United States about both organizational matters and operational planning, including discussions of targeting and violence. His direction from Russia (and the explicit framing of The Base as preparing for an inevitable race war) made the network unusual among American white supremacist organizations in its combination of disciplined tradecraft and remote international leadership.²

Identity Exposure and Legal Status

In January 2020, as the FBI executed simultaneous arrests of Base members in Georgia, Maryland, and other states, The Guardian published an investigation confirming that "Norman Spear" was Rinaldo Nazzaro - an American with a background in U.S. government national security contracting then residing in St. Petersburg. Nazzaro publicly confirmed portions of his identity following the exposure.

His residence in Russia has complicated potential U.S. prosecution. No extradition request or indictment has been made public as of 2026. Counterterrorism researchers have noted the parallel between his operation of a U.S.-targeted extremist network from Russia and the structural patterns of Russian-origin influence operations, though no direct state connection has been publicly established.¹

Legal Status and Why No Charges

As of 2026, Nazzaro has not been publicly indicted or charged in the United States despite directing a U.S.-targeted white supremacist paramilitary network from Russia for eight years.

FBI: Supervisory Special Agent Christopher Tarrant of the FBI's Detroit domestic terrorism unit confirmed in 2022 that the bureau had an open investigation into Nazzaro. A State Department source told VICE News in 2021 that Nazzaro was a Department of Justice "matter," suggesting a live DOJ criminal referral or grand jury proceeding. Nazzaro told journalists he was "not surprised" the FBI was investigating him and denied wrongdoing.⁶

Structural constraint on designation: The Base, as a U.S.-founded and largely U.S.-based organization, cannot be designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B because that statute applies only to groups designated by the Secretary of State as foreign organizations. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Specially Designated Nationals list likewise has no entry for Nazzaro or The Base. This means that, unlike al-Qaeda or ISIS financiers who can be sanctioned regardless of location, Nazzaro cannot be sanctioned through the standard foreign terrorism financial tools available to Treasury. No domestic terrorism statute in U.S. law creates a stand-alone charge for leading a domestic terrorist organization: federal charges against Base members were brought under existing statutes (firearms, civil rights, illegal alien transport) rather than any terrorism-specific charge.⁷

Extradition: No U.S.-Russia extradition treaty exists. Russia has provided sanctuary to Nazzaro since at least 2018. He confirmed residency in St. Petersburg on multiple occasions. No Red Notice (Interpol arrest warrant request) for Nazzaro appears in publicly accessible records.

Allied designations: Canada listed The Base as a terrorist entity under Order in Council P.C. 2021-31 (February 2, 2021), published in the Canada Gazette Part 2, Vol. 155, No. 2, alongside Atomwaffen Division, the Proud Boys, and the Russian Imperial Movement. United Kingdom proscribed The Base under The Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2021 (SI 2021 No. 1318), debated in the House of Lords on July 15, 2021. Australia announced The Base's designation as a terrorist organization on November 24, 2021, the country's second far-right designation after Sonnenkrieg Division. New Zealand designated The Base in June 2022. The European Union designated The Base under Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2055 and Council Decision (CFSP) 2024/2056 on July 26, 2024 (the EU's first ever far-right terrorist designation), under its CP 931 sanctions framework. The United States has made no equivalent designation.⁸

Russia Connection: Assessments

Nazzaro appeared on Kremlin-controlled Rossiya-24 state television on October 31, 2020, in a segment of nearly thirty minutes aired as part of Russian election coverage, in which he denied any contact with Russian security services and described himself as a "family man." His appearance on state television is itself treated by analysts as significant given that Russian state media access implies at minimum tolerance from Russian authorities.⁹

Nazzaro obtained Russian citizenship in approximately 2017, before founding The Base. Russian citizenship requires vetting by the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB). Former Base members circulating testimonies in 2025 alleged that Nazzaro was observed texting in fluent Russian, inconsistent with the limited Russian proficiency one would expect of someone who had relocated recently. Analysts Colin Clarke of the Soufan Center and Steven Rai of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) both assessed, without claiming definitive proof, that The Base's shift to Russian-owned platforms (VKontakte and Mail.ru, the latter linked to Yuri Kovalchuk, a Putin-aligned oligarch), combined with an apparent bot-driven follower campaign and Nazzaro's Russian citizenship and sanctuary, raises strong suspicion of state support.¹⁰

The Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC), a Department of Homeland Security-affiliated state fusion center, published an advisory in April 2025 describing Nazzaro as having "for years garnered suspicions of being a Russian intelligence asset" and noting that FBI resource reallocation away from domestic terrorism had contributed to the group's resurgence.¹¹

No U.S. government agency has publicly released an assessment definitively attributing The Base to Russian state direction. The structural parallel, an American operating a U.S.-targeted violent network from Russia, using Russian infrastructure, holding Russian citizenship, appearing on state television, and offering cash bounties for attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure that align with Russian military objectives, has been noted repeatedly by analysts but has not resulted in a public intelligence community judgment as of 2026.

2025-2026 Operational Activities

In approximately March 2025, The Base's Ukrainian cell, operating as White Phoenix, began posting videos showing members spray-painting The Base symbol in Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv. In April 2025, Nazzaro posted offers via Telegram of cash payments to volunteers for attacks on Ukrainian power stations, military and police vehicles, government buildings, and officials. This was described by analysts as the first time The Base had openly aligned itself with Russian geopolitical objectives.¹²

On July 10, 2025, White Phoenix claimed responsibility for the targeted killing of SBU Colonel Ivan Voronych in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. Voronych was shot multiple times with a silenced pistol and died at the scene; he was the highest-ranking SBU officer killed in a targeted assassination in Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The SBU subsequently announced it had killed two alleged Russian operatives, a man and a woman, who it said were directed by Russia's FSB to surveil Voronych and had been directed to a weapons cache. Whether White Phoenix's claim was credible attribution or a false-flag claim remains contested; counterterrorism sources told the Kyiv Independent they considered the claim credible, but the SBU did not confirm The Base's involvement.¹³

In February 2026, The Base's Ukrainian branch claimed responsibility for a car bombing in Odesa, stating the target was a border service officer assisting Russia. Law enforcement attribution was not confirmed.

On November 25, 2025, the Spanish National Police General Commissariat of Information, supported by Europol's European Counter Terrorism Centre, arrested three suspected Base members in Madrid and Valencia during a three-day operation that included five house searches and seizures of firearms, bladed weapons, ammunition, military tactical gear, and neo-Nazi propaganda. Investigators stated the suspects were in contact with Nazzaro, who had urged "consolidation of international cells and selective attacks to destabilize Western democracies."¹⁴

In the Netherlands, three individuals (ages 16, 18, and 26 at time of arrest, from Westerhoven, Veenendaal, and Hengelo) were arrested August 20, 2024, on charges of incitement to terrorism and membership in The Base. The Dutch Openbaar Ministerie (OM) announced prosecution demands on March 3, 2025, seeking conditional prison sentences and community service. In Italy, two individuals were arrested in September 2024 on charges of Base membership, inciting violence, and extorting minors for child sexual abuse material.¹⁵

Congressional Record

The House Subcommittee on Military Personnel (Committee on Armed Services) held a hearing titled "Alarming Incidents of White Supremacy in the Military -- How to Stop It?" on February 11, 2020 (116th Congress, CHRG-116hhrg42962). Subcommittee Chairwoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) cited The Base in her opening remarks, describing it as seeking to "use terrorism to start a race war and collapse the United States." Witnesses included Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Mark Pitcavage of the Anti-Defamation League. Nazzaro was not named by name in the publicly available transcript; the hearing focused on military recruitment by white supremacist groups generally rather than on The Base's leadership's government background.¹⁶

Property: Base Global LLC

Nazzaro used a Delaware-registered limited liability company, Base Global LLC, to purchase three 10-acre parcels of undeveloped land in Ferry County, Washington state for $33,000 in December 2018. The parcels are located less than three miles north of Republic, WA, and two abut Washington Department of Natural Resources land. Deeds of sale listed a New Jersey post office as the company's address; separate tax affidavits provided the address of a New Jersey apartment belonging to a member of the Nazzaro family since 1988. No confirmed use of the land for Base training was documented; it was intended as a training camp site.¹⁷