FBI, Department of Justice raise concerns about 'violent extremist network' 764

Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald on May 7, 2025

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FBI officials say they are conducting more than 250 investigations across all of their field offices into a group they describe as a “nihilistic violent extremist network” that looks to “sow chaos” and “bring down society.”

The FBI is investigating the so-called “764” online predator group that is known to push victims to “create graphic pornography, harm family pets, cut themselves with sharp objects, or even die by suicide,” ABC News first reported earlier this week.

Authorities say that thousands of people around the world could be at risk of being victimized, with the youngest victims being under 10 years old, FBI Assistant Director David Scott told the news organization.

“We see a lot of bad things, but this is one of the most disturbing things we’re seeing,” said Scott, head of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.

The feds are considering 764 as a potential form of domestic terrorism. An affidavit filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., highlighted that the group’s “accelerationist goals include social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the United States Government.”

Some predators even go as far as holding parties to watch videos of victims harming themselves, ABC News reported.

All 55 of the FBI’s field offices are handling at least one 764-related investigation. Details of what the bureau’s Boston office is looking into were not immediately available Wednesday.

The group has hit New England, with ABC News referencing an incident from last year in Vernon, Connecticut, where local police arrested a girl for “conspiring with a 764 devotee overseas to direct bomb threats at her own community.”

“When police searched her devices, they found pornographic photos of her, photos depicting self-mutilation, and photos of her paying homage to 764,” the national outlet reported.

Authorities arrested the group’s leaders last month, which the feds said marked a “significant takedown with the violent online network.”

Leonidas Varagiannis, also known as “War,” 21, a U.S. citizen residing in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Prasan Nepal, also known as “Trippy,” 20, of North Carolina, were arrested and charged with operating an international child exploitation enterprise, according to the Department of Justice.

“These defendants are accused of orchestrating one of the most heinous online child exploitation enterprises we have ever encountered – a network built on terror, abuse, and the deliberate targeting of children,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “We will find those who exploit and abuse children, prosecute them, and dismantle every part of their operation.”

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