Editorial Note: We should strongly note that Wicca is unrelated to the Order of Nine Angles and its beliefs. Wicca is equally unrelated to Satanism. However, the general public may not be aware of these distinctions.
Editorial Caution: This story contains graphic information including references to child abuse and murder.
NEW YORK – According to law enforcement documents, court records, and sources with knowledge of the investigation, the FBI reported that via a gun possession arrest in November 2021 and then through social media, they have been able to identify a pedophilic, Satanic cult with reportedly Wiccan and Pagan influences that has been abusing and extorting young people. The cult may have victimized hundreds and possibly thousands of youths between the ages of 8 and 17.
The information about the group appeared in a US Department of Justice(DOJ) warning stating that “violent online groups deliberately target minor victims on publicly available messaging platforms to extort them into recording or live-streaming acts of self-harm and producing child sexual abuse material.” They added that “These groups use threats, blackmail, and manipulation to control the victims into recording or live-streaming self-harm, sexually explicit acts, and/or suicide; the footage is then circulated among members to extort victims further and exert control over them.”
The identified group is referred to as 764. The DOJ wrote in its warning, “The violent online groups use many names, including 676, 764, CVLT, Court, Kaskar, Harm Nation, Leak Society, and H3ll, but continuously evolve and form subgroups under different monikers.”
The group reportedly targets young people of color, LGBTQ+ identified youth, and youth with mental health issues.
The group apparently uses services like Roblox to target victims. Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system that allows users to design and play games created by other users. It uses services like Discord and Twitch to contact individuals while using Telegram as its primary tool for communication.
Reports also noted that the group curated musical selections on streaming services like SoundCloud to identify victims.
The 764 group seems to function worldwide including in the US, Canada, UK, and EU. It appears to have a network of a few thousand participants with several hundred very active members. These highly active members generate and disseminate the bulk of the material spread in the network including child pornography and gore videos.
The 764 group also appears to be an offshoot of the Order of Nine Angles (O9A). The secretive occult group originated in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and is known for its esoteric practices, including ritual magic, Satanism, and the promotion of a violent and extremist ideology. The group’s teachings combine elements of various occult traditions, including Satanism, Left-Hand Path practices, and Hermeticism. The 764 group uses pentagrams, images of Baphomet and the Sigil of Leviathan.
Researchers have noted that O9A is linked to Nazism and is interested in creating an “ ‘Imperium’ based on a species of satanic god-men.”
Image of the accused via US Department of Justice
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point notes that O9A uses skull masks in their terror strategies and writes “The O9A shares with other pagan neo-fascists a belief in a primordial spirituality that has been supplanted by the Abrahamic faiths.” It adds “Someone interested in O9A but already committed to another esoteric religious tradition like Norse paganism or a Vedic religion need not abandon their existing practice to explore O9A: Small publishers run by O9A practitioners have brought out books and zines that discuss borrowing ritual practices from other religions as disparate as Vajrayana Buddhism, Shaivite Hinduism, Norse paganism, and Greek Gnosticism, while O9A artists’ work often draws on similar sources.”
Individuals in 764 “gain notoriety and rise in status within their group” via violent acts. As an example, Romanian media and Der Spiegel reported that a German teenager linked to 764 is accused of murdering his foster family.
The path that led the FBI to issue its warning and identify 764 and its aliases was via the arrest of Angel Almeida, a 23-year-old resident of Astoria, Queens. Almeida is reported to have been sharing disturbing posts on social media. Almeida reportedly voiced loyalty to Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who massacred Black churchgoers in Charleston in 2015. Another post involved a shirtless Almeida holding a shotgun and wearing a skull balaclava and crossed bandoliers of rifle ammunition. The O9A symbol was in the background of the post.
Court documents requesting a permanent detention order pending trial noted that “A flag consistent with the flag pictured behind Almeida in several photographs, which is associated with the Order of Nine Angles.”
The order adds “The defendant’s history and characteristics also confirm that he presents a substantial risk of danger to the community. The defendant has repeatedly expressed an interest in the abuse of children and abuse of animals. The defendant’s interest in an extremist organization like O9A, which has been associated with violent conduct, is a serious concern.” It also noted that Almeida was released in 2020 from a Florida prison after an 18-month sentence for third-degree burglary.
Almeida was deemed fit for trial in September, his outbursts and violent behavior in court notwithstanding. Reports say Almeida attempted to attack a justice department staffer in June and his own court-appointed counsel in September.
Besides gun possession, prosecutors allege Almeida convinced a girl to cut herself, record the act, and send the video to him.
Almeida’s trial is now scheduled for December 4. The charges he faces have a potential maximum sentence of life in prison.
The FBI recommends the public consider the following warning signs regarding self-harm or suicide:
- Sudden behavior changes such as becoming withdrawn, moody, or irritable.
- Sudden changes in appearance, especially neglect of appearance.
- Changes in eating or sleeping habits.
- Dropping out of activities and becoming more isolated and withdrawn.
- Scars, often in patterns.
- Fresh cuts, scratches, bruises, bite marks, burns, or other wounds.
- Carvings, such as words or symbols, on the skin.
- Wearing long sleeves or pants in hot weather.
- Threatening to commit suicide and openly talking about death, not being wanted or needed or not being around.
The FBI requests the public that is they are aware of a victim of a crime using these types of tactics, retain all information regarding the incident (e.g., usernames, email addresses, websites or names of platforms used for communication, photos, videos, etc.) and immediately report it to:
- FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov
- FBI Field Office [fbi.gov/contact-us/field-officesor 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324)]
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (1-800-THE LOST or cybertipline.org)
We remind readers that in the US, call or text the abuse hotline on 800-422-4453. In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000.
Help is available in multiple languages 24/7. Phone: 1-800-387-5437 (KIDS) in Canada and the United States. Elsewhere in the world dial 00-1-780-427-9485. In EU, 116 111.
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