Group 764 is a decentralized, internationally operating online network that emerged in 2021 and has centered primarily on the sextortion, sexual exploitation, and psychological torment of minors. The network developed out of an earlier sextortion group known as “CVLT” and was founded by Bradley Cadenhead, then a 15-year-old resident of Stephenville, Texas. Operating under the online alias “Felix,” Cadenhead established the network by opening a Discord server named “764,” a name derived from the first three digits of his hometown’s ZIP code.
Although some media outlets and outside observers have characterized 764 as a Satanic or neo-Nazi cult, investigative authorities and extremism researchers generally describe its participants as being motivated primarily by sadism, nihilism, and a shared misanthropic worldview. Researchers have also identified internal group dynamics as a factor in ongoing radicalization. Symbols and terminology borrowed from neo-Nazi and Satanist organizations appear to have been used within the network primarily for shock value and group identity, rather than necessarily reflecting adherence to a coherent ideology.
Cadenhead grew up in Stephenville, a community in central Texas, in a religious family that regularly attended Washington Street Baptist Church. Around the age of six, he began experiencing severe peer bullying. These social difficulties continued into middle school and were accompanied by intense outbursts of anger and declining academic performance.
Following his parents’ separation in 2016, Cadenhead remained in his father’s custody and began engaging in self-harm. That same year, at age ten, he first encountered extreme physical violence and torture footage online. Over the following years, his exposure to graphic material expanded into active participation in digital spaces devoted to sharing violence, gore, and coercive content.
By his early teens, Cadenhead was experiencing increasing behavioral and legal problems. In late 2019, he was charged with making terroristic threats after discussing plans for school violence with classmates and teachers. The case resulted in a period of probation and a diagnosis of disruptive mood dysregulation disorder.
By early 2021, Cadenhead had effectively stopped attending high school and was spending much of his time in online communities. He drew on earlier digital groups, including “Greggy’s Cult” and CVLT, which specialized in manipulating children into performing self-harm on camera. Cadenhead sought to adopt and expand these methods, with the goal of increasing his presence and influence online.
To establish the initial 764 network, Cadenhead frequented gaming forums, online chatrooms, and gore channels where vulnerable minors were present. His approach commonly involved establishing rapport through initial kindness before asking targets for compromising photographs. Once obtained, the images could be used as leverage to blackmail victims into performing increasingly severe acts, including explicit self-exposure, self-mutilation, and animal abuse.
Cadenhead accumulated large collections of illicit media and used the material both to exert control over victims and to attract other participants to his server. Within these online channels, he developed a reputation around the material and behavior associated with the group, while encouraging self-harm and suicide among members.
The network’s organizational structure and practices also incorporated terminology and rituals associated with cults. Members used specialized jargon and hierarchies based on the severity of harm inflicted, as well as initiation rituals. One practice, known as “cutsigning” or “fansigning,” involved coercing victims into carving a handler’s username or “764” into their skin and using their own blood as a sign of submission.
Perpetrators also compiled digital dossiers known as “lorebooks.” These files contained a target’s private information and compromising material and could be used to threaten victims with public exposure, doxing, or swatting if they attempted to end contact.
The network’s use of esoteric imagery, including material associated with the Order of Nine Angles (O9A), an occult movement with neo-Nazi associations, contributed to its characterization by some outside observers as an ideological cult. Analysts have noted, however, that these rituals and symbols appear to have functioned primarily as mechanisms for psychological coercion, group identity, and mutual radicalization rather than as expressions of a structured religious doctrine.
Cadenhead’s direct oversight of the original network ended after law enforcement began investigating reports of child sexual abuse material associated with an IP address in Stephenville. In August 2021, local police executed a search warrant at his residence and took the sixteen-year-old into custody. Authorities seized digital devices containing evidence of extortion, self-harm recordings, and explicit imagery.
Cadenhead was subsequently certified to stand trial as an adult. In March 2023, he pleaded guilty to nine counts of possession with intent to promote child pornography. Two months later, in May 2023, an Erath County judge sentenced him to 80 years in prison. Subsequent appeals challenging the sentence were rejected by state and federal courts. Cadenhead remains incarcerated at the Estelle Unit in Huntsville, Texas.
His arrest and conviction did not end the activities associated with 764. Instead, leadership shifted to other individuals internationally, while the network fragmented into a decentralized collection of successor and splinter groups. These have included designations such as 676, Court, Harm Nation, Kaskar, and Leak Society.
Researchers place this broader network within a larger online subculture known as “the Com,” short for “the Community.” The term encompasses various cybercriminal, sextortion, and real-world harassment networks. Within this environment, “764” developed from the name of a specific server into an umbrella term used for a broader movement of imitators and affiliated groups operating across platforms including Discord, Telegram, Roblox, and Minecraft.
Recruitment tactics used by 764 offshoots have commonly targeted minors between the ages of eight and seventeen, with particular attention to isolated or otherwise vulnerable youth, including children experiencing mental health difficulties or belonging to marginalized groups. Perpetrators often begin with “love bombing,” providing sustained attention, validation, or virtual in-game rewards to establish trust before moving targets into private communication channels.
Once compromising material has been obtained, interactions can shift into extortion. Researchers have also identified a cycle of victimization within the network in which former victims, following prolonged exposure to manipulation and abuse, sometimes become perpetrators themselves. These individuals may then extort other children in response to demands from other members or in an effort to gain status within the group.
Over time, some parts of the 764 ecosystem expanded beyond digital extortion into real-world violence and terrorism. Splinter factions such as “No Lives Matter” (NLM) shifted toward encouraging physical attacks, arson, and mass violence and circulated instructional material concerning weapons and explosives.
The broader network also developed operational connections with external violent organizations, including the Ukraine- and Russia-based Maniac Murder Cult (MKY/MMC). Factions associated with this ecosystem have been linked to various real-world crimes in multiple countries, including violent stabbings, physical assaults, and public threats.
As the scope of activity associated with 764 became more apparent, law enforcement and government responses expanded. The United States Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and international law enforcement bodies have classified 764 and associated networks within the category of “nihilistic violent extremism.” The FBI considers the network a high-priority investigative target.
Canada and New Zealand have formally designated 764 as a terrorist entity connected to the Order of Nine Angles. Multiple members and operators of associated groups have also been arrested and sentenced to prison terms in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Romania, and other countries.
At the same time, major digital platforms have faced regulatory scrutiny and legal action concerning their safety measures. These responses have included expanded age-verification requirements and automated monitoring of online communications intended to reduce grooming and extortion involving minors.
Key Sources:
Bogle, A. (2026, July 24). Inside the horrifying online network where children coerce others to commit violence and self-harm. The Guardian.
Levine, M. (2026, August 19). “Most prolific” member of online extremist network 764 sentenced to 77 years in prison. ABC News.
Ortiz, K. (2023, December 18). Feds bust leader of neo-Nazi cult who used Discord and Telegram to groom and exploit children. Business Insider.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2025, December 19). ‘764’ extremist group leader pleads guilty to RICO, child exploitation.
Winston, A. (2024, March 13). There are dark corners of the internet. Then there’s 764. WIRED.