Aug 1, 2024 10:50 AM

He Was an FBI Informant—and Inspired a Generation of Violent Extremists

Joshua Caleb Sutter infiltrated far-right extremist organizations as a confidential FBI informant, all while promoting hateful ideologies that influenced some of the internet's most violent groups.

Collage of a person wearing a skull mask shady figures shaking hands an envelope of money and FBI documents

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has a long and checkered history of letting confidential informants run wild. Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger famously used his protected status to knock off New England underworld rivals. COINTELPRO-era provocateur Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. was involved in multiple civil rights atrocities. To catch criminals and extremists, you have to play dirty.

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Ali Winston is an independent reporter covering criminal justice, privacy, and extremism. He has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, New York magazine and has reported documentaries for BBC Panorama and PBS Frontline. His work has earned several honors, including a George Polk Award for Local Reporting, an ... Read More

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Jake Hanrahan is an independent journalist and documentary filmmaker from the UK. He focuses on underground counterculture, global conflict, and organized crime. See his work at jakehanrahan.com ... Read More

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TopicsFBI Crime extremism far-right

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