Wolves of Vinland
Wolves of Vinland is a Norse neopagan group based in the outskirts of Lynchburg, Virginia. One of the group's founders, Matthias Waggener, has described the group as an "Odinic wolf-cult", while journalists associate the group with white supremacists and the alt-right. In 2018, the Southern Poverty Law Center added the Wolves of Vinland to its list of hate groups, describing it as a "Neo-Volkisch hate group."
The group raised $3000 on GoFundMe to purchase materials for a Viking-style longhall, and accepted donations from white nationalist organizations such as Counter Currents Publishing. Members of the group routinely post photos of ritual animal slaughter on Instagram. Prior to his resignation from the organization in late 2018, author Jack Donovan was an outspoken supporter of the Wolves, as is Kevin DeAnna, the founder of the now defunct Youth for Western Civilization. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Wolves of Vinland as a hate group for espousing white nationalist and racist beliefs, as well as using white nationalist symbolism such as the swastika and associating with the white supremacist think-tank National Policy Institute. One member of the group, Maurice "Hjalti" Michaely, served two years in prison after being found guilty of attempted church arson against the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, a historic black church in Gainesville, Virginia. The fire did not injure anyone but did cause $1 million in damage. After his arrest, group members began wearing T-shirts that said "Free Hjalti".
The group has been compared to Chuck Palahniuk's novel Fight Club and its film adaptation, and members have quoted the work as an influence, specifically the story's antihero Tyler Durden. Members of the group have been associated with the white power music and black metal scenes in Baltimore, Maryland and elsewhere.
