Soldier led white far Right group
A soldier charged with sharing military information that threatened New Zealand’s security was leading a growing white nationalist movement.
The 27-year-old soldier, who has name suppression, was arrested in December at Linton Military Camp in circumstances that were shrouded in secrecy.
The man had been planning a trip to Russia for Christmas, Stuff revealed at the time.
He is now being supervised by the Defence Force while awaiting a military court trial.
He is charged with accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose and for disclosing information that prejudiced the security or defence of New Zealand.
It is not known who he supplied the information to.
Stuff has confirmed the soldier was behind an online profile named Johann Wolfe, a selfdescribed co-founder of the white nationalist group the ‘‘Dominion Movement’’, which subscribed to the same identitarian politics as the March 15 terror suspect.
The group shut down its internet presence in the hours after the Christchurch mosque attacks but a seemingly identical group – ‘‘Action Zealandia’’ – has since emerged and earlier this month vandalised signage at a National
Party office in Auckland.
The soldier was also questioned by police after March 15, Stuff has previously reported.
The soldier, under the pseudonym, was interviewed by the Australian alt-Right podcast station The Convict Report produced by white nationalist group The Dingoes – which also shut down after the March 15 attack.
A source close to the soldier has confirmed to Stuff he is the person named Johann Wolfe in the podcast interview.
Those close to the soldier were devastated after listening to the interview, according to the source.
‘‘It is heartbreaking listening to this.
‘‘I know his family; this is not how he was raised,’’ they said.
The soldier told the interviewers of gaining recruits for the white nationalist group.
The soldier’s involvement in white nationalist groups did not end after March 15.
His arrest first came to light after members of far-Right Christian group Wargus Christi began talking online about a member being arrested.
Whether he was involved with Action Zealandia, an apparent successor to the Dominion Movement, is unknown.
Members of Action Zealandia group mask their identities on online posts, and have been plastering their white nationalist message in cities around the country.