You may have never heard of 764 and other “nihilistic violent extremist” networks, but according to law enforcement officials, members of these groups could already be interacting with your children online.
“Today, 764 targets minors and young adults through online platforms like Minecraft, Discord and Telegram, using sextortion and coercion to promote violence, sadism and chaos,” Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said Wednesday during a roundtable discussion. “Young children are being coerced into self-harming, cutting themselves animal cruelty and violence.”
Foley described 764 and groups like it as an “emerging threat” in Massachusetts. Her office believes nihilistic violent extremist groups are already targeting youth throughout the state via online platforms, she said.
What are ‘nihilistic violent extremist groups’?
Violent online networks like 764 — whose name is derived from its founder’s home zip code — use social media, gaming platforms and smartphone apps to “methodically target and exploit minors and other vulnerable individuals” across the globe, the FBI wrote in a March 2025 announcement.
“Threat actors often groom their victims by first establishing a trusting or romantic relationship before eventually manipulating and coercing them into engaging in escalating harmful behavior designed to shame and isolate them,” the FBI wrote.
Members of these groups use threats to coerce their victims into producing child sexual abuse material or videos of self-harm or animal cruelty that they then share with the network, according to the FBI. They tell their victims they will share the victim’s address or phone number online or call a SWAT Team to the victim’s home through a fake 911 call if the victim does not comply with their demands.
Once a member has succeeded in extorting a victim, they continue to coerce the victim into doing more extreme acts by threatening to share the explicit videos with the victim’s family and friends or on a public online forum, the FBI said.
“The networks control their victims through extreme fear, and many members have an end-goal of forcing the victims … to livestream their own suicide for the network’s entertainment or the threat actor’s own sense of fame,” the FBI wrote.
Why are they targeting children?
Members of nihilistic violent extremist groups often target adolescent girls, but have been known to victimize people of all genders and ages, according to the FBI. Most known victims are between the ages of 10 and 17 years old, but the FBI has identified victims as young as age 9.
These networks also frequently target people with mental health issues, the FBI said.
The motivations of these extremists are “highly individualized” and can be a mix of both the ideological and personal, according to the FBI. Some seek to cause fear and chaos, while others want sexual gratification, social status or a sense of belonging.
“They are some of the most disturbing individuals I think anyone has ever seen,” Foley said Wednesday. ” … It’s targeting youth and trying to draw them into this world where they don’t believe social norms should be governing.”
About a year ago, the FBI warned of “a sharp increase in activity” in the U.S. by 764 and other such groups. Earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that suspects in a recent bombing, planned drone strike and a number of shootings across the country have been tied to nihilistic violent extremist groups.
“In their manifestos, these attackers declared their contempt for humanity and a desire to see the collapse of civilization,” the Post wrote.
Are online violent networks operating in Mass.?
At least one Massachusetts minor has been a target of a nihilistic violent extremist group, and at least one Bay Stater has been arrested in connection with crimes tied to his membership in such a group.
Late last year, a federal grand jury indicted a 23-year-old Washington man on charges related to victimizing a Massachusetts child as part of an online violent network. Texts between the suspect and the victim show him repeatedly threatening to sexually assault the victim, telling the victim to harm themselves and threatening to kill the victim and their family, according to Foley’s office.
Approximately a year earlier, a 24-year-old man living in Western Massachusetts was arrested and charged in connection with crimes linked to his involvement with a 764-adjacent group. Among the evidence discovered by federal agents was a video in which the West Springfield resident told a young woman to carve her initials into her thighs and smear her blood on herself, according to court documents.
“My office is increasingly concerned about the rise of 764 in Massachusetts,” Foley said Wednesday.
The Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to raise public awareness of nihilistic violent extremist groups through training sessions for local police departments, school districts and parents, Foley said. Her office hopes to work with law enforcement agencies and school districts across the state to spread information about these networks and the threat they pose to young people.
“These children are suffering, and we’re going to do everything we can to stop it from continuing to proliferate in the state,” she said.
