U.S. Designates Largest Neo-Nazi Group in Sweden as Terrorist Organization

The State Department on Friday designated the largest neo-Nazi group in Sweden and its leaders as terrorists, only the second time it has applied the label to a white supremacist group known for a long history of violence.

The decision comes as the group, the Nordic Resistance Movement, foments violence online and forges connections with like-minded organizations and people in the United States, officials said. Those actions have incited concerns among federal law enforcement officials responsible for thwarting domestic terrorism.

“The group’s members and leaders have carried out violent attacks against political opponents, protesters, journalists and other perceived adversaries,” the State Department said in a statement.

The Biden administration said the designations were part of a broader effort to crack down on white extremists. In June 2021, the administration unveiled its strategy for countering domestic terrorism, stating that addressing the threat demanded “a multifaceted response across the federal government and beyond.”

The designation gives the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control the ability to block any American property or assets belonging to the group. It also bars Americans from financial dealings with the organization and makes it easier to ban its members from traveling to the United States.

Still, Mary McCord, a former top Justice Department official, said that even though the designation was an important move, the United States could have gone a step further and identified the group as what is known as a foreign terrorist organization.