“We were following it like a soccer match.”
When insurrectionists stormed the Capitol, far-right extremists across the Atlantic cheered.
Jan. 6 has put the spotlight on the transnational links of the far right -- and its violent potential. Our report: 1/10 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/world/europe/capitol-far-right-global.html?smid=tw-share

The links are online and offline. German extremists have attended sniper competitions in America. American neo-Nazis have traveled to Europe. Militants from different countries roam the same message boards and bond in training camps from Russia and Ukraine to South Africa 2/10

A recent report commissioned by the German foreign ministry describes a “a new leaderless transnational apocalyptically minded, violent far-right extremist movement” animated by the same conspiracy theories and narratives of “white genocide” and “the great replacement” 3/10

“The neo-Nazi scenes are well-connected,” one German intelligence official said. “We’re not just talking about likes on Facebook. We’re talking about neo-Nazis traveling, meeting each other, celebrating together.” 4/10

It is difficult to say exactly how deep and durable the links are between the American and European far right. But officials worry that the networks, already emboldened in the Trump era, have become more determined since Jan. 6. 5/10

For the far right, Jan. 6 is both a symbolic victory and a strategic defeat. Some disavowed it as amateurish. Others said it was false flag. But many saw it as a teaching moment — about how to pursue their goal of overturning democratic governments in more strategic ways. 6/10

“The storming of a parliament as the initiation of a revolution can work,” one German far-right activist said. “But a revolution can only be successful if it's organized. When it’s crunchtime, when you want to topple the regime, you need a plan and a sort of general staff.” 7/10

The Proud Boys, whom Trump famously told to “stand back and stand by,” were among those who stormed the Capitol. They held a 90-minute online summit with the British extremist Tommy Robinson after the election to regroup. 8/10

The US has exported QAnon to Europe, now European disinformation is making its way to the US: German QAnon followers spread disinfo that Trump’s defeat had been manipulated from C.I.A.-operated servers in Frankfurt. It went viral after Gohmert and Guiliani picked it up 9/10

For now the transnational links are mostly inspirational rather than organizational, said @DittrichMiro but that is no less dangerous: “It’s not so much forging a concrete plan as creating a violent potential.” 10/10