A Reuters investigation finds the neo-Nazi Aryan Freedom Network is rapidly enlarging its footprint in the United States, crediting President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policy shifts for a surge in recruitment. The group, run from rural Texas by Dalton Henry Stout and his partner who uses the alias "Daisy Barr," says it has nearly doubled its chapters since early 2023. The Terrorism Research and Analysis Consortium estimates membership has climbed to between 1,000 and 1,500 people, making it one of the country’s largest openly white-supremacist organizations. Interviews with a dozen extremists, nine researchers and reviews of federal court filings show AFN using flyers, firearms training and rallies against LGBTQ events and immigration to attract supporters. Stout, the son of a Ku Klux Klan grand dragon, told Reuters that Trump “awakened a lot of people” and is “the best thing that’s happened to us.” While the network publicly claims to stay within the law, it urges followers to prepare for a “Racial Holy War” and has harboured members such as Andrew Munsinger, convicted in April for illegally possessing weapons and ammunition. Analysts say the organization’s growth reflects broader trends. Data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project show white extremists accounted for nearly 80 % of U.S. extremist-related violence and demonstrations in 2024, up from 13 % in 2020. Experts link the acceleration to Trump’s pardons of January 6 rioters, his hard-line immigration stance and the administration’s decision to shift FBI and Department of Homeland Security resources away from domestic-terror probes. The findings underscore how ideas once confined to the fringes—such as portraying immigrants as “invaders”—have moved closer to mainstream Republican politics, blurring the line between far-right extremism and conventional conservatism. Despite denials from the White House that the president encourages racism, watchdogs say cuts to federal counter-extremism programs risk further emboldening groups like the Aryan Freedom Network.