Federal prosecutors say an online extremist group is exploiting social media to manipulate vulnerable minors, prompting investigations, criminal charges, and calls for new laws.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Justice Department officials are warning of a growing online extremist network known as “764,” whose members are accused of targeting vulnerable teenagers through social media and coercing them into self-harm, abuse, and violence, according to rare public remarks by career prosecutors involved in the cases.
In a panel discussion hosted by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, Justice Department National Security Division prosecutors Justin Sher and James Donnelly described the network’s activities in stark terms, according to an ABC News report detailing their comments. The two officials, described as the department’s lead prosecutors focused on 764, said the group’s online content and behavior exceed even extreme fictional depictions of violence.
Sher said members of the network, many of whom are minors themselves, deliberately seek out underage girls struggling with mental health challenges such as depression or eating disorders. Prosecutors said the perpetrators groom victims by building trust or feigning romantic relationships, then use manipulation, threats, and extortion to force victims to engage in self-mutilation, violence against others, or other acts of abuse, often requiring that the conduct be recorded or livestreamed for the group’s consumption.
According to federal officials, the scope of the activity has grown rapidly. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported receiving more than 2,000 reports of abuse linked to 764 or similar networks during the first nine months of 2025, roughly double the number reported during the same period the previous year. Law enforcement officials said the FBI is currently investigating more than 350 individuals nationwide for suspected ties to 764 or related groups, while the Justice Department has charged at least 37 people in recent years.
Prosecutors highlighted recent criminal cases to illustrate the network’s tactics. In one case, 19-year-old Cayden Newberry of Johnson City, Tennessee, was indicted after allegedly coercing a 13-year-old girl in New Jersey to carve his initials into her leg and send images and video documenting the act. Newberry faces multiple child exploitation charges.
Sher told the audience that the ideology behind 764 extends beyond abuse for entertainment, describing the group’s worldview as one that seeks the collapse of society and the U.S. government in favor of what prosecutors characterized as a Darwinian system where only the strongest survive. He said the group’s stated goals are one reason both the Justice Department’s National Security Division and the FBI are closely monitoring the network.
Federal prosecutors acknowledged that existing laws can make 764-related cases difficult to pursue, particularly when conduct crosses state lines or involves online coercion rather than physical contact. Officials said prosecutors are increasingly relying on creative applications of current statutes, including racketeering and child exploitation laws, while some lawmakers in Congress are working to draft legislation aimed specifically at addressing the conduct of online extremist networks.
Hours after the panel discussion, another case underscored the federal response. Nineteen-year-old Alexis Aldair Chavez of San Antonio, Texas, pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a criminal enterprise and a racketeering conspiracy linked to 764. Prosecutors said Chavez admitted to consuming violent network content, grooming young girls for extortion and self-mutilation, and acting as an administrator for multiple 764-related online groups.
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