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Some 83 hours of calls with more than 100 participants linked to The Base group were analyzed by the SPLC, which monitors hate, for a new podcast, “Sounds Like Hate.”

Military training or knowledge of firearms was an important asset, according to the released calls. So was having a place to train.

One of the people in the calls trying to join the Base says he is 17 years old and offers his mother’s property for a training exercise.

“What date would be best in January for everybody?” the caller, who gave a pseudonym of Erik, asks the group. Two members, apparently vetting ‘Erik’ for membership, talk about stocking up on ammunition before the event. One talks about having blown through a lot of ammunition at a prior meeting. One offers to place orders and ship them for others.

That meeting appears to have been postponed, according to the calls, because Erik says his mother got nervous. It is unclear if it ever took place. But it gives insight into what the group values, how they operate, and how they view themselves.

The SPLC’s release of parts of the calls comes at a time when US intelligence services say domestic violent extremists, specifically White supremacist groups are the “the most persistent and lethal threat in the Homeland.”

The calls, dating from 2018 until January 2020, were supplied by a confidential source, said Jamila Paksima, co-host of the podcast. The authenticity was verified by subject matter experts who recognized the leader’s voice from previous audio appearances and were able to verify other corroborating details, Paksima told CNN.

The group and its leader

The man at the center of most of the calls is Rinaldo Nazzaro, the group’s leader, who the SPLC says now lives in St. Petersburg, Russia.

CNN contacted Nazzaro via an e-mail address attached to his name regarding the leak of the secret calls.

He did not dispute that he was the leader of the group, but challenged its characterization.

“The Base is a survivalism and self-defense network. Our objective is sharing knowledge and training to prepare for crisis situations,” Nazzaro said in an e-mail to CNN. “The Base is not a neo-Nazi organization or a terrorist group. We do not encourage violence beyond self-defense situations.”

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