White nationalists and militias exploit disasters to recruit, sow distrust

White nationalist and militia groups have repeatedly tried to turn natural disasters into recruiting grounds, moving into hard-hit communities under the cover of relief while undermining trust in the people trying to help. After Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina and nearly wiped Bat Cave off the map, Sheriff Lowell Griffin said outsiders arrived with their own agenda, including anti-government far-right groups and people who wanted to act as a militia with weapons.

The danger is not only symbolic. These groups can crowd out trained responders, create confusion at damaged sites and give extremists a public-facing role in moments when communities are desperate for water, shelter and search crews. CBS has described the people drawn to these scenes as “disaster tourists,” a label that reflects how they use catastrophe to soften their image, sow doubt in government and collect new followers. CBS also identified Active Club as one of the white nationalist groups present in North Carolina after the storm.

One of the clearest windows into the tactic came from Robert Rundo, who said, “Going to a disaster relief is directly helping our people.” Active Club, he has said, is a place for young white men to work out together while sharing ideology. That blend of fitness culture, racial politics and post-disaster visibility gives extremist groups an opening to look useful while spreading propaganda. With more than 200 tornadoes hitting over 20 states in April 2026 and hurricane season approaching, the pressure on local agencies to screen volunteers and control access to disaster zones is only growing.

The Anti-Defamation League has warned that the pattern is not new. It said Patriot Front used the July 2025 Texas Hill Country floods to generate positive publicity under the guise of relief. The ADL noted that these efforts are usually small, but they still can impede trained relief workers and create extra problems for law enforcement. That leaves emergency managers, sheriffs and nonprofit responders with a basic accountability failure: in the scramble to deliver aid, extremists are still finding room to insert themselves into the response.

In communities hit by hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, the battle is not just over debris removal and rebuilding. It is also over who gets to claim the public face of recovery, and whether official systems can keep extremists from exploiting disaster when people are at their most vulnerable.