764, The Com & Nihilistic Violent Extremism, Explained

A new kind of online extremism is driving swatting, bomb threats, and the exploitation of children — and its members are mostly teenagers. This is a plain-English guide to 764, “The Com,” and the term the FBI now uses for the trend: nihilistic violent extremism.

What is “nihilistic violent extremism”?

In early 2025, the FBI adopted the term nihilistic violent extremism (NVE) to describe people who commit crimes “in furtherance of political, social, or religious goals that derive primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability.” Unlike traditional extremism organized around a single cause, NVE is organized around destruction itself — and it thrives in online communities of young people.

What is “The Com”?

“The Com” (short for “the community”) is a loose, decentralized network of interconnected online groups — operating largely on Discord, Telegram, and gaming platforms — where these actors gather to share tactics, trade illicit material, and compete for status. The FBI has classified subgroups of The Com around different activities, including hacking, extortion, and real-world violence. According to independent analysis, the majority of members are between the ages of 11 and 25, with most leaders under 25.

What is 764?

764 is one of the most dangerous groups within The Com. Named after the ZIP-code area of its founder in Stephenville, Texas, it is a violent extremist network that uses the threat of swatting and doxxing as tools of sextortion and child exploitation. Members groom, blackmail, and coerce minors into producing content depicting self-harm and abuse. The FBI has issued repeated public warnings about 764 and has hundreds of open investigations tied to the network. Related offshoots such as Purgatory sell swatting as a service, and the neo-occult Order of Nine Angles (O9A) has influenced the movement.

“It was the worst stuff I’ve ever looked at in six years of working CSAM.”— Captain Jeremy Lanier, Stephenville Police Department, on the 764 network (via WIRED)

How swatting fits in

For these networks, swatting is both a business and a rite of passage. Some offshoots advertise swatting for as little as $20, livestream the attacks, and celebrate the media coverage. In one online group of roughly 1,100 school-age members, proving you had made 200 swatting calls was a requirement to join. Swatting is also used as a weapon against victims — sending armed police to a target’s home to terrorize or coerce them.

The state-sponsored end

At the most sophisticated level, the same tactics are used by nation-states. Using bomb threats and swatting to spread fear — rather than troops — is a recognized tactic of terror; Russia sent bomb threats to roughly 1,000 Ukrainian schools before its invasion. Reporting by the Financial Times and warnings from Europol describe Russian services grooming vulnerable teenagers online to carry out sabotage and attacks. Europol now calls the recruitment of minors one of the fastest-growing security threats in Europe.

Sources: Just Security, “Swatting Attacks and Nihilistic Violent Extremism: A Primer” (2025); WIRED reporting on 764/The Com; FBI public service announcements; Financial Times and Europol on the recruitment of minors. See our press briefing for links.