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Michael Colborne

@ColborneMichael

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Journalist + researcher + lead @BCatMonitoring + slowly but steadily disengaging from this website. Signal: michaelcolborne.01

Joined October 2015
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
3 months
interrupting my continual twitter slumber to share my @bellingcat latest — with Bellingcat community member @niemisentee , we geolocated (yet again) a secretive neo-Nazi event in Finland. blurring things doesn't always work, guys.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Well, finally. American far-right extremist Rob Rundo was arrested March 29 at a gym in the capital of Romania🇷🇴, Bucharest, report local media. He's to be extradited back to the U.S.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
A Telegram photo Rundo posted March 15, though likely a few months old. Geolocated with @Mabl2K : a rooftop bar in — you guessed it — Sofia, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 And, before you ask, the other fellows in the pics (left and right)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Rusich, Russia's neo-Nazi Wagner unit, reacts to UA/RU prisoner exchanges by advising RU forces how to commit war crimes, including how to extort $$ from families after summarily executing prisoners (awkward English auto-translate for convenience). Disgusting...
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Look, it's @elonmusk liking a tweet from a self-proclaimed fascist, a Patroclus/Achilles to neo-Nazi fugitive Rob Rundo (in 🇧🇬) who got ejected from USMC recruit training for his Rundo relationship, as I wrote with @hannahgais @jason_a_w at @splcenter
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Ukrainian women who became pregnant after being raped by Russian soldiers undergo abortions in Poland under the same conditions as Polish women: in secret and often without access to proper medical care
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
U.S. far-right extremist and fugitive Rob Rundo was finally arrested in Bucharest, Romania, after several years of jaunting around the Balkans and months of avoiding arrest in Greece and Bulgaria My latest with @splcenter 's @hannahgais + @jason_a_w
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
🧵 The ‘Russian Volunteer Corps’ (RDK), the combat unit on the 🇺🇦 side who claims to have made an incursion into Bryansk 🇷🇺 (i.e., likely not a 'false flag'), are led by a figure well known to myself and those who follow the transnational far right: Denis Kapustin (aka Nikitin)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
In an absolutely unsurprising development, one of the Russian soldiers from the infamous video yesterday (if you know, you know) also apparently likes giving Nazi salutes
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@christogrozev
Christo Grozev
2 years
Awkward. Who's better for a job of denazification than actual Nazis?
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
As Andrew Tate ( @cobratate ) and his brother Tristan ( @TateTheTalisman ) face trial in Romania on serious criminal charges, their global ‘War Room’ is being run by men who try to keep their real identities on the down-low — until now. My @Bellingcat latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
lol come on, there's no way whoever tweeted this (a staffer, himself, whoever) isn't doing this on purpose
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@RobertKennedyJr
Robert F. Kennedy Jr
1 year
Since the assassination of my father in 1968, candidates for president are provided Secret Service protection.  But not me.   Typical turnaround time for pro forma protection requests from presidential candidates is 14-days.  After 88-days of no response and after several
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
In short, to end the thread: Ukraine, you don’t need the RDK and you don’t need Kapustin (also hi denis)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Twitter 'safety,' 2023: a user in New Zealand reported a tweet of the livestreamed video of the Christchurch terror attacks...and was initially told it didn't break @Twitter 's safety policies. It was only taken down once @nzherald contacted Twitter
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
"In the city of Kherson itself, you feel like an English officer in a newly captured India" is a much, much more revealing comment about Russia's invasion of Ukraine from this Russian soldier quoted here than he surely realizes
@wartranslated
WarTranslated (Dmitri)
2 years
Comment: The author forgets to mention their own Russian military reporters who say neither artillery nor aviation in the area is operating with any level of efficiency. "In the city of Kherson itself, you feel like an English officer in a newly captured India.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
On Sunday U.S. far-right extremist and fugitive Rob Rundo posted these pics on Telegram, blurring what he thinks hides location (I've obscured branding with black circles) Still didn't take long to geolocate: Stara Zagora, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 42.4256, 25.62008;
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
U.S. far-right extremist Rob Rundo just wanted to advertise his fashion brand again. But the man ‘on the run’ — his trial’s scheduled for April 2023 in L.A. — also advertised some new whereabouts: Plovdiv, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 My @Bellingcat @BcatMonitoring latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Yan Petrovsky, a leader and commander of the neo-Nazi Rusich military unit with links to Wagner, has reportedly been arrested in Finland
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
So how does this all help Ukraine? It doesn’t. What did this ‘op’ achieve? A combat unit led by an infamous (alleged) criminal neo-Nazi who’s banned from most of Europe, doing PR-focused things that could give Putin even more (BS) rhetorical justification for Russian attacks?
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
""...congratulations for the excellent candidate number. I know it's a winning card. Obviously, this "88" refers to two H letters which we won't say more about," [Vilhelm] Junnila said in his address at a campaign event" = Finland's new economy minister
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
I mean, ~130,000+ people died in wars between 1991 and 2001 in the Balkans – including as part of a genocide recognized by two international courts – but "uninterrupted peace", kk
@AP
The Associated Press
2 years
By ending 77 years of almost uninterrupted peace in Europe, war in Ukraine joins the dawn of the nuclear age and manned spaceflight as a watershed in history. An @AP analysis looks at how the world has changed during the war's five months of fighting.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
U.S. far-right extremist Rob Rundo just wanted to advertise his fashion brand again. But the man ‘on the run’ — his trial’s scheduled for April 2023 in L.A. — also advertised some new whereabouts: Plovdiv, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 My @Bellingcat @BcatMonitoring latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
In Amsterdam, left-wing activists are protesting an event from the far-right, pro-Russian MH17-truthers of Forum for Democracy (FvD) that features the Russian ambassador to 🇳🇱, among other people.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
The commander of a unit of Arsenal Kyiv ultras – one of the only (the only?) left-wing anti-fascist ultras groups in Ukraine – has died in battle. A reminder if you needed one of how Ukraine's left, however fractious and marginalized it may be, has responded to Russia's invasion
@Jake_Hanrahan
Jake Hanrahan
2 years
The commander of Hoods Hoods Klan has been killed in combat whilst fighting Russian forces in east Ukraine. His name is Yuriy Samoilenko. He’s the one blurred out in our doc (due to his military position). He was a good man, an old school anti-fascist, and a father. RIP bro 🌹
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
"Iggy is at the top" @Matt_A_Shea & @JamieTahsin , in their new @bbcthree doc on Andrew Tate, explore the central, creepy role of Miles Sonkin, a former alleged cult member. We identified and discussed him in our @bellingcat article on @ReachTWR .
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Members of Europe's nastiest neo-Nazi networks have been meeting up at secretive retreats in the Finnish wilderness. But thanks to keen eyes from @bellingcatgap member Teemu Nieminen, he and I teamed up, found the locations and tell you why it matters
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Do any simple search of ‘Denis Nikitin’ and you’ll find out what you need to know: a violent far-right extremist who has long been active organizing European combat sports events, combat training sessions and other transnational far-right extremist events
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Some of Serbia's most vocal, fringe far-right figures have been buddying up to Russia — even traveling there at the invite of Russian media outlets, including one overseen by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Don't ignore it. My latest for @guardianopinion @guardian
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
The RDK was founded in Aug 2022, made up largely of ostensible anti-Putin Russian far-right extremists in Ukraine. Kapustin, leader, is a Moscow-born neo-Nazi who spent time living in Cologne 🇩🇪 and speaks German and English fluently in addition to his native Russian
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
"Robert Paul Rundo, 33...was transported by special agents with the FBI from Romania to Hollywood Burbank Airport, where he arrived Tuesday evening. Rundo is in federal custody and is expected to make his initial appearance and be arraigned this afternoon"
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
But he got in more trouble that put a damper on his int’l activities — Germany banned him from Schengen in 2019, largely confining him to Ukraine. While there’s no hard proof, apparently German intel thought he might have ties to Russian security services
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Kapustin, like some other far-right Russians, has long had links with Ukraine’s far right, as we @Bellingcat have written about. Kapustin at one time was a key cog in the Azov movement's once-prominent international outreach efforts ( @ChristopherJM )
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Google has removed Andrew Tate’s online “learning platform” from Google Play after campaigners complained that the influencer’s 'The Real World' app is a pyramid scheme which exploits teens and ultimately channels them towards misogynistic ideology
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
In 2018, however, Kapustin landed himself in trouble. As I write in my book on Ukraine’s Azov movement, Kapustin was arrested that October and charged with being part of a drug manufacturing ring, facing up to ten years in prison. In the end, he managed to escape punishment
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Fast forward to today, as Kapustin brags about his far-right ‘unit’ making an incursion into Russia, and people on this platform stating, evidence-free, that this was some ‘false flag.’ No, likely not; this was something Ukraine’s military intelligence very likely signed off on!
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Since then, Kapustin kept on with his activities in Ukraine, including playing a lead pre-invasion role in some ugly anti-LGBT+ efforts — and maintaining his friendship with American Rob Rundo, currently holed up in Bulgaria despite his love for Serbia
@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
On Sunday U.S. far-right extremist and fugitive Rob Rundo posted these pics on Telegram, blurring what he thinks hides location (I've obscured branding with black circles) Still didn't take long to geolocate: Stara Zagora, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 42.4256, 25.62008;
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
It's no secret, despite the nonsense of 'denazification', that the Kremlin's more than happy to use neo-Nazis as part of its war against Ukraine. @meduza_en presents here some of the major figures, histories and crimes of those on the Russian side
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
"...a Ukrainian military intelligence official, Andriy Yusov, said "these are people who are fighting with arms against the Putin regime and those who support him... Perhaps Russians are beginning to wake up, realise something and take some concrete steps"
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
i.e., new charges in Romania against Andrew Tate, Tristan Tate and others may be incoming. There's been an ongoing additional investigation there into alleged crimes including money laundering, witness intimidation, more human trafficking and (re Tristan) trafficking of minors
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
U.S. neo-Nazi Kent McLellan says he's fought in Ukraine. But public court records place him in Florida at the specific times he says he was in Ukraine — and we haven't seen a single credible piece of evidence to place him there at all. @tristan__lee & I
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
The most popular @Telegram channel in Slovakia 🇸🇰 & Czechia 🇨🇿 is run by an anti-vax, antisemitic, 'Great Replacement'-loving, doxing-fond far-right extremist wanted by Slovakian police — who lives in London 🇬🇧 My @Bellingcat @BCatMonitoring latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
If you've spent enough time (i.e., too much time) trapped in the arcana of Russian far-right extremists who've spent time in Ukraine, you can probably identify both of these men without having to consult your notes or ask anyone (they're both in my book, fwiw. yes, that thing)
@yarotrof
Yaroslav Trofimov
1 year
These are reportedly the Ukrainian-backed Russian troops who invaded Belgorod. “The key to the border is broken in half and grandpa Putin will soon be in linden honey” they say, paraphrasing a cult Russian song called “Everything is going according to plan.”
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
and that was quick — the Wagner mural in Belgrade is no more, at least for now
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Meanwhile in Belgrade 🇷🇸 the mural to Darya Dugina has been replaced by a mural dedicated to Wagner, signed by the far right People's Patrol (leader Damnjan Knežević is 2nd from right in the photo). The mural is at Brankov Most (44.8152029, 20.4528677)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Junnila, a member of the right-wing Finns Party, apparently has a long, not-so-subtle history of far-right ties, nods and messages; "88 on the 14th day," he had as a 2019 campaign slogan, among other things
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Ironically, I emailed Kapustin last week about this, asking what he thought about Rundo not once speaking out in support of Ukraine and aligning with the largely pro-Russian Serbian far right. Apparently not a big deal for Kapustin — all he replied with was a dumb soyface meme
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
"An emboldened cast of anonymous trolls spewed racist slurs and Nazi memes onto Twitter in the hours after billionaire industrialist Elon Musk took over the social network Thursday," opens the least surprising news story I've read in a while
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
'Neo-Nazi,' as @Dywizjon161 uses below, as absolutely the right term to use for Russkiy Styag — a full-on neo-Nazi project whose songs include references to overthrowing the "Zionist regime," "white pride," and "SS soldiers," among many others (and worse) you can find
@Dywizjon161
Dywizjon 161
2 years
Neo nazi music project "Russkiy Styag" playing a gig for Russian paratroopers from 106th VDV unit "Moscow". That's not even Wagner or some other private militia, that's regular Russian army. Let that sink in. Gonna be writing bigger piece about these "lovely" people soon. 1/2
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
...in this leak from Yevgeny Prigozhin's IT, it's noted that some of Prigozhin's employees like to add the numbers '1488' into their passwords and even into external documents... ('1488' = a common far-right/neo-Nazi code, if you're new here)
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@KevinRothrock
Kevin Rothrock
2 years
Dossier Center hacked Evgeny Prigozhin's I.T. dept, which manages his entire empire: catering, troll factories, diamond mining, mercenary work. Whaddya know, he's evading taxes, left and right. And he tests new hires with a polygraph for invasion sentiment and FSB ties lol.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
News from Bucharest: today a Romanian court ordered American neo-Nazi Rob Rundo's extradition to the US to face trial. For background on him and his arrest, revisit my @bellingcat articles as well as my piece with @splcenter 's @jason_a_w & @hannahgais
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Male State founder Vladislav Pozdnyakov, who I wrote about for @bellingcat @BcatMonitoring , calls Rusich's post the "most adequate response" and says he donates to them. Worth noting he's not in Russia, possibly in the EU — was in 🇲🇪,🇦🇱 earlier in 2022
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
“Just as Russia is freeing the Russian world via denazification and demilitarization, we Serbs also have the right, through special operations, to create our own Serbian world...” —Misa Vacic, far-right figure long allegedly linked to President @avucic , in a recent RT documentary
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Rundo, as I’ve alluded to in a few articles in tweets but never really stated outright, is very likely pro-Russia now, despite his past travels to Ukraine and onetime support from the country. (People on the far right reading this…think about it, guys, come on)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Rusich, the neo-Nazi unit fighting as part of Wagner in Ukraine, was among those who shared the vid of the execution of a Ukrainian POW. On their Telegram they include the caption "Finally, a normal reaction", in case you had any doubts about who Rusich are (you shouldn't have)
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@markmackinnon
Mark MacKinnon
2 years
Not going to retweet the video. But he dug his own grave, smoked a last cigarette, and said “Glory to Ukraine” before being executed in cold blood. Clearly a war crime committed by whoever pulled the trigger. Someday, there will be a statue to the victim somewhere in Ukraine.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Some questioning the assertion that Ukraine's military intel likely signed off on the op. Their spokesperson is not exactly denying anything: "a continuation of the transformation of Russia, its purification and liberation from Putin's dictatorship"
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
How is the fanatical Ukraine-hating, Hitler-birthday-celebrating, war-crimes-loving Russian far right reacting to defeats in Ukraine? As @Alexey__Kovalev explains in this must-read, with their own Dolchstosslegende and turning the extremism up to eleven
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
More news from Bucharest: Romania's highest court (High Court of Cassation and Justice; ICCJ in Romanian) yesterday rejected American neo-Nazi Rob Rundo's appeal against the June 28 order of extradition. This means he should (should) be soon be back in the U.S.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
News from Bucharest: today a Romanian court ordered American neo-Nazi Rob Rundo's extradition to the US to face trial. For background on him and his arrest, revisit my @bellingcat articles as well as my piece with @splcenter 's @jason_a_w & @hannahgais
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
“It’s so Orwellian...they literally take an anti-fascist, a human rights defender, and call him a Nazi" 'They', of course = Russia. The man they call a 'Nazi' = someone who organized, among other things, memorials for anti-fascists murdered by neo-Nazis
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Serbian far-right fringe figure @MisaVacic — long assumed to be linked to @avucic — is in Russia observing the sham referendums at 'polling stations' in so-called 'refugee camps' in Volgograd, even gifting a t-shirt with war criminal Ratko Mladić's face...
@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
“Just as Russia is freeing the Russian world via denazification and demilitarization, we Serbs also have the right, through special operations, to create our own Serbian world...” —Misa Vacic, far-right figure long allegedly linked to President @avucic , in a recent RT documentary
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
I wrote Thursday that we ignore Serbia's and the broader Balkans' far right at our peril. Watching clips of football hooligans trying to march towards @belgradepride @EuroPride shouting "kill the fa**ots", assaulting journalists and throwing stun grenades at police (below) is why
@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Some of Serbia's most vocal, fringe far-right figures have been buddying up to Russia — even traveling there at the invite of Russian media outlets, including one overseen by Yevgeny Prigozhin. Don't ignore it. My latest for @guardianopinion @guardian
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
If you organize a concert and insist there's nothing "right-wing extremist" about it while headlining far-right extremist performers who sing, well, racist songs by infamous neo-Nazi bands, you're probably not quite telling the truth. My @bellingcat latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Rinse, repeat: US far-right federal fugitive Robert Rundo decided yesterday to, again, post a video with an undated clip of himself in the exact same Plovdiv 🇧🇬 gym I geolocated in my November @bellingcat article🤦‍♂️ () (3rd pic= reference pic from gym page)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Today, a week after my @bellingcat article exposing his whereabouts (Plovdiv, Bulgaria), US far-right extremist and fugitive Robert Rundo decided to post a video with an undated clip of him working out in...the exact same Plovdiv gym, again 🤦‍♂️ ()
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
@splcenter @hannahgais @jason_a_w I geolocated the gym in Bucharest🇷🇴 where Rundo was arrested — Berceni, the southern part of the city, ~6km away from the city centre. How? Easy — just by searching 'gym' in Bucharest on Google Maps and checking streetview for each one...
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Romanian authorities are now investigating Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two associates on more serious human trafficking charges ("human trafficking in continued form") as another Romanian friend of his has been arrested in a separate investigation
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Also discussed: another high-ranking War Room leader, Jonathan Bowe, who we identified in our @bellingcat article. He's accused in the doc of grooming a woman into online sex work. He's also currently a pilot for @Delta , who never replied to my request for comment about him.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
In Moscow, Russian far right figure Igor Mangushev gives a genocidal speech — "the de-Ukrainization of Ukraine" — while holding what he says is a skull of a soldier Russians killed at Azovstal. Basically no difference between what he's saying and Russia's stated goals in Ukraine.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
A Telegram photo Rundo posted March 15, though likely a few months old. Geolocated with @Mabl2K : a rooftop bar in — you guessed it — Sofia, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 And, before you ask, the other fellows in the pics (left and right)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
In a Telegram post (the channel of his fashion 'brand'), Rundo posted a short video March 12 advertising 'what they're up to.' While he may not himself be in the video (there are several people in the vid), locations in the video: Sofia, Bulgaria 🇧🇬
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
1/2 A Royal Navy submariner who the MoD knew had links to the far right was promoted after joining an even more extreme rightwing organization, Patriotic Alternative. He'll now reportedly be removed from service, police reportedly investigating
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Andrew Tate has been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Two alleged victims of Andrew and Tristan Tate have filed a protective order to keep their identities confidential, citing intense doxxing and harassment from the Tates’ fans, associates, and even the brothers’ legal team
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Posted and promptly deleted by self-described magician and hypnotist Miles Sonkin
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
1/2 Thanks to a public Instagram post (1st pic) from German far-right extremist Benjamin Moses ( @Belltower_News ) we know the location of European Fight Night: Csókakő, HU (2nd, 3rd pics), ~80km from Budapest in Fejér county (47.34677243, 18.272734320)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Almost four hours after it was originally supposed to begin in Budapest — and after the original venue pulled out last-minute — organizers have posted that "the first fights have begun." They're not disclosing the location, but it's still in Hungary, though far from Budapest...
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
My article from earlier in August. And, spoiler, for everyone interested — including those from Tate's world reading this — there's more to come from us...
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Update on Jonathan Bowe, War Room 'general' accused in @Matt_A_Shea / @JamieTahsin 's @bbcthree doc of assault. @Delta has sent me a statement saying that they are "taking these allegations very seriously" and have placed Bowe on administrative leave pending an investigation.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
@bellingcat In the documentary, the alleged victim accuses Bowe of assaulting her. @Delta , any comment? Is this man still employed with you? Seems to contradict the values espoused on your website.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Also, there will likely be new charges from a separate ongoing investigation — Romanian authorities are currently investigating allegations of money laundering (did anyone say crypto?), witness intimidation, more human trafficking and — for Tristan Tate — trafficking of minors
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
@bellingcat In the documentary, the alleged victim accuses Bowe of assaulting her. @Delta , any comment? Is this man still employed with you? Seems to contradict the values espoused on your website.
@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Also discussed: another high-ranking War Room leader, Jonathan Bowe, who we identified in our @bellingcat article. He's accused in the doc of grooming a woman into online sex work. He's also currently a pilot for @Delta , who never replied to my request for comment about him.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
ICYMI: my @Bellingcat piece revealing some key personalities behind Andrew Tate's 'War Room' — former AU soldier & security consultant Joule Sullivan, self-described hypnotist/magician Miles Sonkin and former USAF pilot Jonathan Bowe Stay tuned: there'll be more to come...
@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
As Andrew Tate ( @cobratate ) and his brother Tristan ( @TateTheTalisman ) face trial in Romania on serious criminal charges, their global ‘War Room’ is being run by men who try to keep their real identities on the down-low — until now. My @Bellingcat latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Image of the day: Miles Sonkin, hiding in an LA hamburger joint and complaining to the serving staff about @Matt_A_Shea and @JamieTahsin , apparently having been unable to hypnotize them into going away
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
@fabrice_deprez it's literally like asking Chat GPT to write a speech
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Meanwhile in Belgrade 🇷🇸 the mural to Darya Dugina has been replaced by a mural dedicated to Wagner, signed by the far right People's Patrol (leader Damnjan Knežević is 2nd from right in the photo). The mural is at Brankov Most (44.8152029, 20.4528677)
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Meanwhile in 🇸🇮Slovenia, former PM @JJansaSDS (who blocked me after I wrote this @bellingcat @BcatMonitoring article: ) was ordered by a court to apologize publicly for libel about rival party @strankaSD , which he did at 1am on Twitter with pics only
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
"Denis Nikitin, leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, told the Financial Times that his fighters assaulting the Belgorod region were in possession of American-made military vehicles....while declining to disclose how they were obtained." (with some observations from me as well)
@ChristopherJM
Christopher Miller
1 year
NEW: Russian far-right militias on Ukraine’s side who stormed Belgorod used US tactical vehicles. Ukraine denied direct involvement in the raid, but a military intel official acknowledged “co-operating” with the militias. And I spoke to a militia leader.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Today, a week after my @bellingcat article exposing his whereabouts (Plovdiv, Bulgaria), US far-right extremist and fugitive Robert Rundo decided to post a video with an undated clip of him working out in...the exact same Plovdiv gym, again 🤦‍♂️ ()
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
U.S. far-right extremist Rob Rundo just wanted to advertise his fashion brand again. But the man ‘on the run’ — his trial’s scheduled for April 2023 in L.A. — also advertised some new whereabouts: Plovdiv, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 My @Bellingcat @BcatMonitoring latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan's house arrest was extended by at least another 30 days by a Bucharest court today
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Andrew Tate has been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organized crime group to sexually exploit women
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Bombic, despite this, is now trying to whip up prejudice against Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia. He's told his @telegram followers that, among other things, they're forming "gangs" to empty ATMs in eastern Slovakia (SK + auto EN) Revisit my article here
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@BcatMonitoring
Bellingcat Monitoring Project
2 years
Slovakia media report that Daniel Bombic, who was arrested two days after our @bellingcat investigation, is out on £15K (~€17K) bail, has to wear an electronic monitoring anklet & check in with police, has a 10pm curfew, can't leave England & Wales + more
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
"After charges were reinstated in a superseding indictment filed in January, Rundo eluded authorities, traveling through Europe but continuing to post images on social media, @bellingcat reported"
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
you guys aren't mad or anything, are you
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Croatia🇭🇷 MEPs from @EPPGroup have organized events in Brussels downplaying terrorism and Nazi crimes, even featuring a member a far-right organization responsible for several terrorist attacks in the 1970s From @UnaHajdari with several comments from me
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
8 months
I was joking with someone last week that U.S. neo-Nazi Robert Rundo's charges would end up dismissed or he'd get acquitted, and be out at some point in 2024. Looks like I was right — his case was dismissed by a U.S, judge today, on some pretty comical grounds.
@meghanncuniff
Meghann Cuniff
8 months
Just in: White supremacist Robert Rundo will be released from jail after a federal judge dismissed all criminal charges over violence at pro-Trump rallies. Judge Cormac Carney believes Rundo was selectively prosecuted instead of "members of Antifa and related far-left groups."
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Update: a Romanian media outlet claims Rob Rundo, currently in custody pending extradition, has filed an asylum claim there. The report also features a screenshot of an apparent fake ID used by Rundo, a Croatian identity card in the name of "Marko Rodić"
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
A (fairly humdrum) update from Rob Rundo's US court case: federal attorneys petitioned his arrest warrant be unsealed so a copy can be provided to Romanian authorities for his extradition. A sealed arrest warrant was apparently part of the superseding indictment filed Jan 4, 2023
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Tate War Room leader Miles Sonkin has apparently deleted his account. Feeling heat from increased attention b/c of our @bellingcat article + @Matt_A_Shea / @JamieTahsin 's @BBCThree doc? From Tate's Muslim fans not happy about Sonkin's past tweets about Palestinians? Some NLP trick?
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
As Andrew Tate ( @cobratate ) and his brother Tristan ( @TateTheTalisman ) face trial in Romania on serious criminal charges, their global ‘War Room’ is being run by men who try to keep their real identities on the down-low — until now. My @Bellingcat latest
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
a short (2 second) video of Rundo's arrest, from Romanian outlet Adevărul
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
@GoadGatsby the fact he had all his tattoos publicly exposed is the least surprising bit of all this
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
Maksym Butkevych — a journalist, human rights activist, longtime antiracist and antifascist campaigner and, due to Russia's 2022 invasion, a soldier — sentenced to 13 years in prison by Russian occupation authorities in eastern Ukraine Some background:
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@zaborona_media
zaborona_media
2 years
Maksym Butkevych was sentenced to 13 years in prison. Maksym is a journalist and human rights defender, he has been serving in the Armed Forces of #Ukraine since March 2022. He was captured in June in the #Luhansk Region. #freeMaksymButkevych Ph: screenshot/YouTube
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
@bellingcat A clip about Sonkin and his alleged cult background in the documentary
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
@bellingcat
Bellingcat
1 year
You can watch a short video breaking down the investigation into the ‘War Room’ ( @ReachTWR ) and some of the figures behind it below.
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
@EliotHiggins no, no they are not. Male State's Pozdnyakov, for one
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
@Twitter @nzherald why do i even use this website
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
2 years
"Prigozhin’s operatives schemed to support the far-right Eurosceptic EKRE party ahead of [Estonia's] 2019 European Parliament elections" Note that EKRE 🇪🇪 is: a) 2nd in polls ahead of elections later this year b) ironically, vocally pro-🇺🇦, anti-🇷🇺
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Revisiting European Fight Night: @ExifRecherche has produced a detailed German-language report with photos (one below) noting the int'l far-right extremists who attended the event, including leading Hammerskins and others (though I don't at all believe ~400 people attended...)
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@ExifRecherche
Exif-Recherche
1 year
Am 6. Mai 2023 fand mit rund 400 Neonazis die erste «European Fight Night» in Ungarn statt. Mitglieder verschiedener militanter Organisationen brachten teils ihre Kinder mit und zeigten NS-Symbole wie Hakenkreuze. Hintergrund zum Kampfsportevent:
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
Five days after European Fight Night, Hungarian organizers have published a report + photos of the event. My favourite part, aside from them obscuring almost everyone's face, is them deliberately obscuring one of organizer Tomasz Szkatulski's rather obvious Nazi tattoos 🤔
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@ColborneMichael
Michael Colborne
1 year
1/2 Thanks to a public Instagram post (1st pic) from German far-right extremist Benjamin Moses ( @Belltower_News ) we know the location of European Fight Night: Csókakő, HU (2nd, 3rd pics), ~80km from Budapest in Fejér county (47.34677243, 18.272734320)
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