‘We Will Fight!’ The Soldier Waging War Against America from Fort Liberty
A member of the white nationalist hate group Patriot Front who appears to operate a social media account that disclosed personal information about perceived political enemies – including journalists, left-leaning activists, politicians and community members – is an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army, a Hatewatch investigation has revealed.
Kai Liam Nix, 20, of West End, North Carolina, also known as Patrick NC inside Patriot Front, is stationed at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, with the 82nd Airborne Division. His enlistment and active-duty status were confirmed by an Army public affairs officer.
As an enlisted soldier, Nix has access to weapons and tactical training that make his involvement with Patriot Front – a group that targets communities with racist propaganda and hate rallies – particularly concerning.
Hatewatch contacted the U.S. Army about its investigation, but an Army public affairs officer declined to comment, citing Army policy.
In addition to participating in racist activism for Patriot Front, Nix appears to be the operator of a Telegram channel that worked in conjunction with white power groups in the South to release sensitive personal information about perceived political enemies including their names, photos, phone numbers and addresses. Their targets included nine journalists, a business owner who spoke up about how antisemitism affected their community, activists in left-leaning groups, lawyers and cybersecurity analysts. The Telegram channel, originally called Appalachian Archives but later rebranded as American Archives, also targeted members of other far-right groups that were deemed insufficiently loyal to the white power movement. This practice – distributing someone’s personal information online for the sole purpose of intimidation or harassment – is called doxing.
David Kirkpatrick, a reporter for The New Yorker conducting a separate investigation into the white power movement, contacted Nix over the phone about Hatewatch’s investigation. Nix denied being a member of Patriot Front and denied being an administrator for the Appalachian Archives channel.
"I’ve seen Patriot Front on the news,” Nix said, according to notes of the conversation Kirkpatrick shared with Hatewatch. “But that is a hate group, and you can’t be in the military and in a hate group at the same time. You have the wrong guy.”
Nix added: “I want to work as a detective to stop criminals, either in Fayetteville or SBI State Bureau Investigation. I’m not sure about any of this, but it sounds like something that would hinder me pursuing my career goal.”
Hatewatch connected Nix to his alias Patrick NC using leaked documents obtained by the journalism collective Unicorn Riot, which Hatewatch corroborated with material shared by the Appalachia Research Club, a team of independent researchers. These researchers shared material that Hatewatch used to connect Nix to the Telegram doxing account. Nix’s activities as a member of Patriot Front and as an administrator of American Archives are examples of aggressive tactics white power groups use to silence the political speech of others.
Hatewatch called Nix to ask about his conversation with Kirkpatrick. After the Hatewatch staff member introduced themselves, the person who answered claimed that they were having trouble hearing because of poor reception. Hatewatch called back, and after introducing themselves again, the person who answered repeated that they were having trouble hearing. Hatewatch called back a third time, and after the phone rang several times, it went to the voicemail associated with the number. After leaving a voicemail for Nix describing the findings of the investigation, Hatewatch attempted to send a text to the mobile number, but the message was marked “undeliverable,” which may indicate that the incoming number was blocked.
On Aug. 15, Nix was detained by the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office on a “federal hold,” according to a list of active incarcerated people on the sheriff’s office website. Nix has been charged with “illicit sales of firearms and lying on a background check,” according to The New Yorker.
‘Join or die’
Before enlisting in the Army in 2022, Nix appears to have been active in Patriot Front for about a year and a half. The Texas-based white nationalist hate group was founded by Thomas Rousseau in 2017 as a rebrand of Vanguard America, which received intense legal and media scrutiny after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Using leaked interview logs obtained by Unicorn Riot, Hatewatch previously reported that roughly 20% of Patriot Front recruits claim to have military experience.
A Council on Foreign Relations report on the threats to the U.S. military from the far-right suggests that white power activists join the military to gain combat, telecommunication and logistical training. The report adds that far-right groups view former members of the military as particularly easy recruits given “the combination of trauma and loss of purpose and community that often plagues veterans.”
The 82nd Airborne came under media scrutiny in 1995 when an internal investigation revealed that 22 of its soldiers were tied to white power groups, including two who were convicted of murdering two Black residents of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Hatewatch identified Nix as Patriot Front member Patrick NC by comparing still images from leaked Patriot Front training videos to a still image from a video found on a family member’s Instagram account. In leaked direct messages, Patrick NC also refers to his birthday, which matches Nix’s birthday.
To minimize the social and legal consequences of associating with his white nationalist group, Rousseau requires members to take strict security precautions, such as creating an alias from a preapproved list of names and adding the member’s state of residence.
In leaked messages obtained by Unicorn Riot, Nix, writing as Patrick NC, messaged Rousseau – who does not conceal his identity – about using Instagram to recruit for Patriot Front. In a leaked message sent Dec. 9, 2021, to Rousseau, Nix wrote, “Gotten about 7 potential recruits. And some more future recruits when they become of age.” In a leaked message sent Dec. 11, 2021, to the Patriot Front social media team chat, Nix mentioned that he was “using certain words to avoid Instagram filters.” About a minute later he added, “I’ve been able to speak with a lot of younger people about patriot front [sic] because of Instagram.”
In a leaked message to a Patriot Front leader in Washington state sent Dec. 11, 2021, Nix suggested vandalizing a bookstore in Asheville, North Carolina, that he perceived was funding local left-leaning groups. Nix wrote, “Maybe I can talk to Thomas about stenciling the store.” A short while later, Nix added in a series of messages: “Of course, never talk about criminal activities. That’s how we get Doxed, Sentenced and basically fucked over.”
Appalachia Research Club shared material from Telegram chatrooms that corroborates leaked messages sent by Nix and obtained by Unicorn Riot. Using a different alias, Nix organized a Telegram chatroom in 2021 to recruit for Patriot Front and provided personal identifying information, including his age at the time (17). In February 2021, he posted a photograph of his math teacher’s vehicle with his high school in the background, characterizing his teacher as “a liberal.” An independent researcher using a Google image search found the high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Nix lived before moving to West End the next year.
Nix used the Telegram chat to promote Patriot Front and encourage others to join. Nix also shared a link to his chatroom in mainstream conservative Telegram chatrooms. The description of the chat stated in part, “White nationalists, Fascists, Nationalist Socialists, Confederates only [sic] We are the New Wave of Nationalism in the U.S. Join or Die.” Nix used the phrase “join or die,” as well as a similar writing style, in other postings, including on the Appalachian Archives Telegram channel.
Rallying with racists
Aside from trying to recruit and radicalize mainstream conservatives online, Nix also attended several rallies as a member of Patriot Front. In his online chatroom, researchers found him using an alias to share his experience marching with Patriot Front on July 3, 2021, in Philadelphia. Despite reports that Patriot Front had to make a hasty retreat due to residents confronting the group, Nix wrote, “Bro the rally was so much fun. Honestly.”
A few weeks later, Nix appeared at a protest against public health policies dubbed the World Rally for Freedom in Raleigh, North Carolina, held July 24, 2021. He walked unmasked alongside Michael Alan Jones and another unidentified person, according to photographs shared by an independent researcher. Hatewatch reviewed the photos and made a visual identification of Nix by comparing the photos to other images of him. At the time, Nix was going into his last year in high school, while Jones, of Charlotte, was 23 and a former Army recruit who had organized with The Base, the Proud Boys and Patriot Front. In 2017, Jones had to leave basic training to attend his criminal trial for a sexual offense charge involving sex with two 14-year-olds when he was 18. Jones pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of crimes against nature and received probation, according to court documents Hatewatch obtained.
Jones, like Nix, is a representative example of the fluidity of associations in far-right groups. From late 2019 to 2021, Jones organized with The Base – a violent white nationalist group that took inspiration from James Mason’s Siege, a collection of racist and antisemitic essays along with tips about how to engage in acts of terroristic violence. Criminal investigations into violence committed by members of The Base, including murder, ultimately dismantled the group. Raw Story also identified Jones alongside members of the Proud Boys at rallies in North Carolina and inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jones is one of several ex-Proud Boys who are known associates of Patriot Front. After stopping Jones for making an unsafe turn in his vehicle in March 2022, deputy sheriffs in Genesee County, New York, found Jones in possession of a semiautomatic rifle, a flash suppressor and a telescopic scope. They also found racist Patriot Front propaganda, a bolt cutter and a pry bar in Jones’ vehicle. Jones was subsequently arrested and charged with possessing a firearm as a felon; however, prosecutors never connected Jones to his far-right activities. In September 2023, Jones was sentenced to time served (10 months), according to a Department of Justice press release.
‘Remember why we do it’
After marching next to Jones in Raleigh, Nix appears to have participated in a November 2021 Patriot Front training led by ex-Proud Boys associate Paul Gancarz, according to leaked video and photographs. The training took place one month after Gancarz and other Patriot Front members allegedly destroyed a memorial to Arthur Ashe in Richmond, Virginia, according to a complaint filed in federal court by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. As Hatewatch previously reported between 2020 and 2021, members of Patriot Front destroyed dozens of memorials to Black and Brown victims of police violence across the U.S., as well as public and private murals that celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride, famous Black Americans, Hmong culture and Chicano history.
In a leaked video obtained by Unicorn Riot, Gancarz leads Patriot Front members in training drills and addresses Nix as “Patrick” and a “North Carolinian.” In the days before the November event, leaked messages reveal Nix, who was writing under the alias Patrick NC, bragging about his fitness routine and questioning whether he should attend because the meetup lands on his birthday. He provided the date, and Hatewatch was able to match the birthday to public records about Nix. As Patriot Front prepared for a rally in Washington, D.C., the next month, Nix wrote, “Remember why we do it, what we’re trying to protect, what we want to fix.”
In February 2022, Nix was spotted at two rallies in Raleigh that were held to protest vaccine mandates and other public health policies. A person who is requesting anonymity because of safety concerns told Hatewatch that on Feb. 5, 2022, they observed a man wearing a mask passing out Patriot Front flyers to a group of rallygoers and identifying himself as Patrick NC. Later that day, Nix used an alias to post photographs to his Telegram chatroom that documented the movements of counterprotesters. A few weeks later, on Feb. 25, the source observed an individual matching the description of Patrick NC photographing counterprotesters, they told Hatewatch.
No Hatewatch source spotted Nix at political rallies for the rest of 2022. Later that year, Nix enlisted in the U.S. Army and graduated from boot camp at Fort Moore in October, according to an Army public affairs officer. In 2023, he graduated from airborne training and moved to Fort Liberty in Moore County, North Carolina, to join the 82nd Airborne.
‘Always watching, always listening, always near’
The Telegram channel Appalachian Archives appeared May 30, 2023, with a post that stated, in part, “This channel is supposed to equip the Activist and Anti Government [sic] with tools of Privacy, Safety, and Knowledge.” Telegram banned the channel in September 2023, but it resurfaced under the same name the next day. On Dec. 7, 2023, Telegram banned the channel again, but the channel reappeared under a new name – American Archives – the same day.
Until American Archives was deleted on March 31, the different iterations of the channel circulated common racist and antisemitic tropes and provided resources on how to engage in racist actions against the perceived Jewish-controlled government and its people. Topics included the neo-Nazi book Siege, cybersecurity, psychological warfare, avoiding surveillance and evading capture. In addition, the channel posted sensitive information about perceived political enemies. Doxing is popular with the far right because it is meant to intimidate and silence the press, the community and political opponents. Many posts on Appalachian Archives included the phrase “always watching, always listening, always near.”
Hatewatch confirmed that Nix played a role in Appalachian Archives by linking Nix to protests attended by the administrator of the channel; it is possible, however, that others had access to the password and could post on the channel.
The Appalachian Archives account doxed about two dozen people from July to December 2023. They included nine journalists and researchers, activists in left-leaning groups and people who spoke out about antisemitism and racism in their communities. The first dox appeared on Appalachian Archives on July 20, 2023, and provided sensitive information about an extremist researcher, including their home address. The account went on to dox members of far-right groups who were deemed insufficiently loyal to the white power movement, including nine associates of the Proud Boys, most of whom had been involved in a fight with a neo-Nazi group at a protest outside a drag show in Oregon in July 2023.
On Aug. 3, 2023, Appalachian Archives posted a dox of an alleged infiltrator of Patriot Front who shared a trove of documents with journalists, including Unicorn Riot. The Appalachian Archives dox followed a civil complaint filed July 25, 2023, in the Western District of Washington by longtime white nationalist Glen Allen. The complaint identified and accused the alleged infiltrator of engaging in several unlawful acts. The next month, in September 2023, Appalachian Archives shared a post from another account that doxed a politician in Sonoma County, California, and a business owner in California who were quoted in media reports speaking against antisemitism in their communities.
‘Eyes on Tennessee’
In October 2023, Appalachian Archives turned its attention to supporting the mayoral campaign of Gabrielle Hanson in Franklin, Tennessee. In a post from Oct. 3, 2023, Appalachian Archives read: “Show Support and Protect a local Mayor candidate who is opposing the LGBT agenda. Protecting a Politician who Fights against Degeneracy.” The post linked to a story by NewsChannel5 investigative journalist Phil Williams that revealed several white supremacists provided security at a Hanson campaign event. The next day, Appalachian Archives doxed a lawyer in Nashville for “attacking active clubs” on X, formerly known as Twitter. Active Clubs are a loose collection of white power groups that seek to create a subculture united around hypermasculinity and a white Christian warrior ethos. Active clubs typically consist of three to eight individuals who train, work out and spar together. Several active clubs also post racist propaganda in communities, as well as protest LGBTQ+ inclusive events and reproductive health centers.
As the Oct. 24, 2023, mayoral election day drew closer, Appalachian Archives began to work closely with the Tennessee Active Club leader Sean Kauffmann. A previous Hatewatch investigation into Kauffmann revealed his violent background and examined how he has led the Tennessee Active Club to confront its perceived political enemies on the streets, in college libraries and outside their homes. Kauffmann cannot legally possess firearms because of a felony conviction for domestic violence. In March, he was arrested in a separate incident and charged with aggravated assault and child endangerment.
Appalachian Archives posted a message to Telegram on Oct. 17, 2023, that teased “Eyes on Tennessee” and included a video that edited together clips of Tennessee politicians, activists and journalists. The next day, Appalachian Archives released apparent research documents about many of the same journalists, politicians and activists featured in the video. One of the documents alleged a giant conspiracy by left-leaning groups to control Tennessee. As the main piece of evidence for this conspiracy theory, Appalachian Archives presented a list of shared social media followers between journalists and politicians. The document also doxed a local journalist who was covering the Hanson campaign.
A few hours later, Appalachian Archives posted a video interview between Kauffmann and Valerie Baldes, a Hanson campaign surrogate. In the interview, Baldes gave Kauffmann the opportunity to circulate white supremacist talking points unchecked. For example, in response to a question from Baldes about why the group appeared at a Hanson campaign event, Kauffmann paraphrased the 14 words – an iconic slogan of the white power movement. Kauffmann said, “We came here to show her support and make ourselves known ... and we’re going to fight back and protect our way of life, and we will protect our women and children.” Baldes also asked Kauffmann about threats Tennessee faced and referred to the apparent research documents posted by Appalachian Archives as “comprehensive.”
After posting the interview, Appalachian Archives threatened Williams, the NewsChannel5 investigative journalist who by this time had produced a series of investigations into Hanson’s campaign. The Oct. 18, 2023, post read, “If Phil Williams does not comply with the Following, more drops will come.” Appalachian Archives then demanded more favorable coverage for Hanson and for Williams to upload Kauffmann’s interview “in its entirety” to NewsChannel5’s website, stating, “This is our only Warning.”
Over the next several weeks, Appalachian Archives and associates of the Tennessee Active Club repeatedly targeted Williams with harassment.
In a phone conversation with Hatewatch, Williams talked about ways he has mitigated stress when faced with targeted harassment by white supremacists. “When it gets a bit intense, I just put the phone away and unplug,” Williams said. “The other thing that gives me comfort is knowing that the biggest mistake these people could make is to go after a journalist, because that is going to bring them heat that they never imagined.”
In the days before the election, Appalachian Archives doxed four more Tennessee journalists who were covering Hanson’s campaign. The night before the election, on Oct. 23, 2023, the channel circulated photographs of flyers posted around Franklin that included images and lies about journalists, politicians and the author of this Hatewatch investigation. The caption to the Oct. 23 post stated in part, “We are Watching you Phil, you Slander us, there Will be Repercussions.”
Over the past decade, the far right has sharpened its focus on journalists they blame for a slew of perceived indiscretions, including exposing their extremist activity and failing to credulously cover various conspiracy theories that animate their movement, such as QAnon. Far-right activists have doxed journalists, while elected officials and candidates have targeted journalists for harassment at political rallies. In one extreme case, a Republican congressional candidate in Montana who assaulted a journalist in 2017 received praise for his violent actions from then-President Donald Trump and won his election later that year. During the Jan. 6 insurrection, at least 18 journalists were assaulted while covering the violence at the U.S. Capitol.
After the mayoral election in Franklin, which Hanson lost, Appalachian Archives continued to work closely with the Tennessee Active Club and photographed a Nov. 11, 2023, rally the group held at the state Capitol in Nashville, according to posts on Telegram. After the rally, Appalachian Archives photographed a fight club event held at the Lewis Country Store. Hatewatch previously identified a private gym above the store as a site of multiple white power training and networking events. Owner Brad Lewis, who said on social media he identified as an “actual, literal Nazi,” sold the store in December 2023.
‘From Appalachia to Cascadia’
After Telegram banned the channel, Appalachian Archives announced in a Dec. 7, 2023, post to Telegram that it was rebranding its channel to American Archives and stated, “From Appalachia to Cascadia: We Will Fight!” Cascadia is a term used within the white power movement to refer to an imagined white nationalist state in the Pacific Northwest.
In the first two months of 2024, the rebranded channel targeted a journalist who reported on associates of Nix, including Jones. The harassment culminated on Feb. 10, when a handful of white power activists, including Kauffmann, held a rally outside the journalist’s home. American Archives promoted and photographed the rally, according to posts on Telegram. In one Feb. 10 post, American Archives wrote, “Opposition move Freely [sic] when they feel immune Remove That Privilege.”
On March 31, just two days after Kauffmann was released from jail after being arrested for aggravated assault and child endangerment, the administrator of Appalachian/American Archives contacted several independent researchers via email and direct messages to announce that his channel was ceasing operation.
In one string of messages shared by an independent researcher, the administrator of the channel wrote, “I am going away, if there’s something you want to know about the movement, ask now.” The administrator said later in the conversation that he was pushed into the movement by an older person, writing: “This movement is full of lost youth. I was one myself once, picked up and groomed by someone who exploited this.” A few minutes later the administrator added, “I do not believe that I can be fully deradicalized, however my thoughts will remain internal from now on.” As the conversation wound down, the researcher, who had already connected the Appalachian/American Archives channel to Kai Liam Nix, wrote, “Thanks Kai.” The administrator never responded. After the exchange, the American Archives channel was deleted.
Illustration at top: A member of the white nationalist group Patriot Front used a Telegram channel to release sensitive personal information about perceived political enemies.
