{"id":44445,"date":"2017-11-21T22:52:20","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T22:52:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theaegisalliance.com\/home2\/theaegis\/WP\/?p=44445"},"modified":"2026-09-01T02:43:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:43:11","slug":"opdomesticterrorism-anonymous-shut-down-more-than-a-dozen-neo-nazi-websites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/2017\/11\/21\/terrorismo-opdomestico-anonimo-cerro-mas-de-una-docena-de-sitios-web-neo-nazi\/","title":{"rendered":"#OpDomesticTerrorism: Anonymous Shut Down More Than A Dozen Neo-Nazi Websites"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"w-[100%] relative max-w-[100%] break-words \">\n<div>\n<div class=\"markdown-renderer fade-appear-done fade-enter-done\">\n<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\">\n<div  style=\"display: block; margin: 0px auto;\"  id=\"_ytid_12830\"  width=\"480\" height=\"270\"  data-origwidth=\"480\" data-origheight=\"270\" data-facadesrc=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ITRcBzmHZrk?enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;disablekb=0&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__ epyt-facade epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" data-epautoplay=\"1\" ><img decoding=\"async\" data-spai-excluded=\"true\" class=\"epyt-facade-poster skip-lazy\" loading=\"lazy\"  alt=\"Anonymous: &quot;We Are Angry&quot; #OpDomesticTerrorism\"  src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/ITRcBzmHZrk\/maxresdefault.jpg\"  \/><button class=\"epyt-facade-play\" aria-label=\"Play\"><svg data-no-lazy=\"1\" height=\"100%\" version=\"1.1\" viewBox=\"0 0 68 48\" width=\"100%\"><path class=\"ytp-large-play-button-bg\" d=\"M66.52,7.74c-0.78-2.93-2.49-5.41-5.42-6.19C55.79,.13,34,0,34,0S12.21,.13,6.9,1.55 C3.97,2.33,2.27,4.81,1.48,7.74C0.06,13.05,0,24,0,24s0.06,10.95,1.48,16.26c0.78,2.93,2.49,5.41,5.42,6.19 C12.21,47.87,34,48,34,48s21.79-0.13,27.1-1.55c2.93-0.78,4.64-3.26,5.42-6.19C67.94,34.95,68,24,68,24S67.94,13.05,66.52,7.74z\" fill=\"#f00\"><\/path><path d=\"M 45,24 27,14 27,34\" fill=\"#fff\"><\/path><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The hacktivist collective Anonymous initiated <a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/technology\/2017\/08\/14\/anonymous-shuts-neo-nazi-kkk-websites-charlottesville-rally\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a huge operation called #OpDomesticTerrorism<\/a> against neo-Nazi and white supremacist websites <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sciencetech\/article-4790166\/Anonymous-shut-KKK-neo-Nazi-sites-rally.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in response to the Charlottesville rally<\/a>. The operation was initiated as a reaction to the violence at the \u00abUnite the Right\u00bb rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which culminated in the murder of counter-protester Heather Heyer.<\/p>\n<p>Anonymous, decentralized and web-based in nature in its activism, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.desmoinesregister.com\/videos\/news\/2017\/08\/15\/hacker-group-anonymous-declares-war-alt-right-websites\/104624834\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">declared war on neo-Nazi and alt-right organizations<\/a>, intent on disrupting their lines of presence and communication on the internet. Anonymous&#8217; activities were part of the general social response to the resurgence of far-right extremism and white supremacy in America.<\/p>\n<p>In the wake of #OpDomesticTerrorism, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebony.com\/anonymous-hacking-white-supremacists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anonymous effectively targeted<\/a> and took down well over a dozen neo-Nazi and Ku Klux Klan (KKK) sites. The cybercrime group <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ebony.com\/anonymous-hacking-white-supremacists\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">worked and relocated very quickly<\/a>, taking many of the hate sites off the map, reports the International Business Times UK.<\/p>\n<p>The Daily Stormer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/alt-right-websites-hackers-anonymous-white-supremacist-820982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was among the largest targets<\/a>, a large neo-Nazi website best described by hateful invective and inciting speech. It was hit hard as Anonymous and other registrars and ISPs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/aug\/16\/daily-stormer-forced-dark-web-reddit-facebook-ban-hate-groups\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attempted to get it taken offline<\/a>. A supposed hacked message on the Daily Stormer site popped up, declaring that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/aug\/14\/anonymous-hackers-take-over-neo-nazi-website-daily-stormer-charlottesville-heather-heyer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the website was under hacker control<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/aug\/14\/anonymous-hackers-take-over-neo-nazi-website-daily-stormer-charlottesville-heather-heyer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anonymous tweeted<\/a>, \u00abWe have no tolerance for any form of racism. We&#8217;re acting to take down the websites of these domestic far-right extremists in the interest of #OpDomesticTerrorism.\u00bb<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/alt-right-websites-hackers-anonymous-white-supremacist-820982\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The collective didn&#8217;t stop<\/a> with site takedown. They also carried out tracking and outing of hate group members. This was a multi-component operation meant to discombobulate the internet presence used by these extremist organizations as a way to recruit members and communicate with one another.<\/p>\n<p>The effect of #OpDomesticTerrorism was profound. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/2017-08-18-options-for-neo-nazis-on-the-internet-are-shrinking.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Engadget says<\/a> that \u00abOptions for neo-Nazis on the internet are starting to shrink\u00bb. The operation pushed many such groups to other hosting options, with some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/aug\/16\/daily-stormer-forced-dark-web-reddit-facebook-ban-hate-groups\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">going so far as to use the dark web<\/a> in an attempt to stay online.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the war on internet-based extremism and hate speech continues. While Anonymous&#8217; activities were effective, they also drew criticisms regarding digital vigilantism and whether private individuals should police the internet. Some of the critics said that pushing such groups underground would make them more difficult to track and defeat.<\/p>\n<p>To all those fears, however, Anonymous&#8217; move was globally seen as long overdue to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/technology\/2017\/aug\/16\/daily-stormer-forced-dark-web-reddit-facebook-ban-hate-groups\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">arrest the rising wave of home-grown terror and radicalization<\/a> via the Internet. The Electronic Frontier Foundation&#8217;s Cindy Cohn explained the larger scenario of technology giants distancing themselves from white supremacist web pages as, \u00abThis is a slippery slope that once begun is hard to reverse.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>As of 2023, the effects of #OpDomesticTerrorism are still present. While other neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups have managed to reinvent themselves online, the operation proved that mass mobilization is effective against web-based intolerance. It also set in motion continued debates on freedom of speech vs. the place of internet communities in imposing hurtful content.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Anonymous&#8217; #OpDomesticTerrorism in 2017 was a watershed moment in the struggle against internet extremism. In taking down over a dozen neo-Nazi websites, the group showed the potential for hacktivist activity and forced key questions of internet governance and the boundaries of online activism.<\/p>\n<h3>What the Courts and the Networks Did After the Takedowns<\/h3>\n<p>The street violence that triggered #OpDomesticTerrorism produced a paper trail the websites never wanted. James Alex Fields Jr., who drove into counter-protesters in Charlottesville and killed Heather Heyer, was convicted of first-degree murder in Virginia state court in December 2018. The jury recommended life plus 419 years. In 2019 he pleaded guilty to 29 federal hate crimes to avoid the death penalty and is serving two concurrent life sentences.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2021, a federal jury in <em>Sines v. Kessler<\/em> found 17 white-nationalist organizers and groups \u2014 including Jason Kessler, Richard Spencer, Christopher Cantwell, Matthew Heimbach, and Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin \u2014 liable for a conspiracy that produced the rally&#8217;s violence, and awarded more than $25 million in damages. Almost half of that award ran against Fields. Collection has been ugly and incomplete, which is its own kind of record: the movement could fill a street in 2017 and could not pay a civil judgment a few years later.<\/p>\n<p>Daily Stormer, the highest-profile site Anonymous and registrars knocked offline, spent years bouncing from the open web to the dark web and fringe hosts. It never recovered the casual, Google-indexed reach it had before Charlottesville. That does not mean the ideology disappeared. It migrated \u2014 to encrypted chats, alternative video platforms, and smaller forums that are harder to DDoS and harder for journalists to watch. The original operation still stands as a documented moment when a decentralized collective, ISPs, and the public all moved at once.<\/p>\n<p>Related from The AEGIS Alliance: <a href=\"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/2017\/07\/24\/attempting-clear-misconceptions-anonymous\/\">Attempting to Clear up Misconceptions about Anonymous<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/2017\/09\/06\/fbi-releases-its-2006-investigation-into-anonymous-project-chanology\/\">FBI Project Chanology files<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/category\/news\/anonymous-and-the-aegis-alliance-news\/anonymous-news\/\">Anonymous News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After Charlottesville, Anonymous launched #OpDomesticTerrorism and knocked more than a dozen neo-Nazi and KKK sites offline, including Daily Stormer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,21,204522,204504],"tags":[193178,8],"class_list":["post-44445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anonymous-news","category-news","category-other-videos","category-videos","tag-opdomesticterrorism","tag-anonymous"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/1511276636_opdomesticterrorism-anonymous-shut-down-more-than-a-dozen-neo-nazi-websites.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44445"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1199453,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44445\/revisions\/1199453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaegisalliance.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}