The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) obtained a guilty plea from one of the leaders of the Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) group, 764, which has reportedly groomed a child in Tennessee, as part of a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case.
A Friday press release from the DOJ announced that Alex Aldair Chavez, of San Antonio, California, pleaded guilty to charges related to racketeering and the sexual exploitation of children.
Court filings reportedly show Chavez was an administrator for 8884, “a network related to 764,” which shares “accelerationist goals” with the larger group, including “social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the U.S. Government.”
The DOJ stated that Chavez and a co-conspirator previously coerced minor victim to generate “content” for their network, consisting of videos of child sexual exploitation material (CSAM) and self harm.
“On or about Dec. 29, 2023, Chavez and a co-conspirator coerced another minor female to cut her tongue as well as torture and kill a cat on a live video call. That same month, Chavez and another co-conspirator worked together to groom and extort several other minor females,” according to the DOJ. “In one instance, the two conspirators coerced a female victim to light her arm on fire and have the fire burn through her skin and deeper into her body, while on a recorded video chat within the ‘8884’ channel. They groomed another minor female victim, forcing her to drink her own urine and attempt to overdose on unknown pills.”
Chavez pleaded guilty to counts of racketeering, distribution of child pornography, and possession of child pornography.
FBI Director Kash Patel called the guilty plea, “a major step in seeing justice served,” in a statement, and said his agency’s involvement in the case represents its commitment to young Americans.
Deputy Assistant Attorney General Sue J. Bai reiterated that the group’s motives include the destruction of American society.
“Chavez led a group of online predators whose ultimate purpose is to destroy our society. They tried to achieve that heinous goal by desensitizing innocent children to violence—coercing them to perform gruesome and harmful acts against themselves and animals—with the hope of encouraging further violence and spreading chaos,” said the DOJ official.
A mother in Lebanon, Tennessee, earlier this month said that her daughter was successfully groomed by 764. The extremists reportedly instructed the child to harm herself to generate content for the network.
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Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “online chat” by FBI-Chicago.
