The 764 movement and the related branch "No lives matter" (NLM) are in focus in two cases where two 14-year-old boys in Borås and Hässelby in Stockholm, respectively, have randomly and unprovokedly stabbed victims.
The online groups are like a concentration of the darkest corners of the internet, where members seek out young, vulnerable victims whom they then urge to harm themselves, kill their pets, and ultimately take their own lives. In these groups, which exist on platforms such as Discord, sexual abuse material involving children also thrives, and within NLM, random violent acts are also encouraged and glorified.
Groups like 764 provide a breeding ground for radicalization on the internet, says Roman Höfner, a journalist at Der Spiegel, who has investigated the movement, to SVT's Uppdrag Granskning.
They spread posts that you hardly see anywhere else, so violent are they.
"Unprovoked violence"
Two such cases are now being tried. One case involves a 14-year-old boy who stabbed an 80-year-old man in the back in Hässelby in July 2024. The court will determine whether the person has committed a crime, but will not impose a sentence.
It's unprovoked violence against a person, randomly selected, who is also using a walker, says prosecutor Alexandra Bittner.
In the preliminary investigation, it can be seen how the 14-year-old has scribbled his alias in school books, together with 764 and NLM.
I believe that his social life on the internet has contributed. I have understood that he himself also sees it that way, says Bittner.
The other case also involves a 14-year-old who stabbed a 55-year-old woman in Borås in January, where the prosecutor will submit evidence on April 3. In both cases, the acts were live-streamed, eagerly cheered on by other members of the movements.
Connections to Umeå
The acts have connections to a boy in Umeå with the alias "Chai". He is described as a driving force in the movement and was sentenced to seven months of youth supervision in April last year as a 15-year-old. He urged a 13-year-old Swedish boy to cut himself and perform sexual acts via webcam. Chai tried to get the 13-year-old to take his life by sticking a knife in his throat.
According to Uppdrag Granskning, Chai has been able to continue being active in the networks after receiving his sentence, and has urged others to engage in self-harm.
It's extremely unusual for a person to have this behavior. It should be something that both the court and the police are aware of, even though he is young. I don't think that's really been understood here, considering the sentence, says psychologist Håkan Järvå to Uppdrag Granskning.
Gustav Sjöholm/TT
Facts: This is 764
TT
The self-proclaimed internet sect 764 was founded by an American teenager in 2020 and has got its name from his postal address in his hometown of Stephenville in Texas.
The founder is currently serving an 80-year prison sentence for child pornography offenses.
Young boys and men in several countries have, in the name of the movement, among other things, groomed, exploited, and blackmailed children sexually, committed several unprovoked knife attacks, and at least one murder. At least 50 chat groups have been or are active on platforms such as Discord and Telegram, but members have hunted down victims on everything from Minecraft and Roblox to forums for people with eating disorders and self-harm.
In the USA, the UK, Sweden, and Germany, identified 764 members have been sentenced to prison for murder, terrorist offenses, and sexual abuse of children.
A boy under 15 years old has confessed to two knife attacks against a woman and an elderly man in the Stockholm suburb of Hässelby in September last year. Another boy with ties to the network has confessed to stabbing a 55-year-old woman in Borås with a knife at the beginning of the year.
A boy in Umeå was sentenced to seven months of youth supervision in April 2024 after getting a 13-year-old to cut himself and perform sexual acts. The boys in Hässelby and Umeå are said to have had leading roles in the Swedish branch of the movement and the subgroup NLM (No lives matter).
Source: SVT, Washington Post, Folkbladet, Borås Tidning, Wired.
