“The TikTok account affiliated with the group includes a clear statement supporting accelerationism and advises joining the group to be linked up with other individuals to exploit ‘collapse’,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a longtime far-right analyst and expert on the Base who noticed the soldier following the account.

“The Base has been designated as a terrorist group by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.”

But under the reign of the new Pentagon, extremism and the far right are an afterthought, while policing and deleting away “woke” ideologies remains paramount. Hegseth has his own connections to Christian nationalism and was reported by a servicemember for alleged extremist tattoos that prevented him from attending president Biden’s inauguration.