The group shares the name of the John Brown Gun Club, which is listed as a “leftist gun-rights group originally based in Kansas” by US NGO The Counter Extremism Project.

Around 2.6 million Afghans have returned since January, including many who have spent decades abroad or who are setting foot in Afghanistan for the first time.

"The risk that Islamic State Khorasan sees these newly arrived Afghans as a potential recruitment pool is high," Hans-Jakob Schindler, a former coordinator of the UN committee monitoring militant groups, told AFP.

Such rhetoric spread within hours to other Telegram communities and social media websites including Trump’s Truth Social platform. Violent groups have pounced on the recent news events to promote themselves, rehabilitate their images and reach new audiences, said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a researcher at the Counter Extremism Project, a nonprofit that tracks such activity online.

“Propagandists are also hoping that federal action will spill over to journalists and those who monitor the extreme right,” he said.

The John Brown Gun Club is a leftist group that originally “sought to militarize the white working class and spur it toward a social-justice revolution,” according to the Counter Extremism Project. Although the club claims to simply act as armed security at protests, local chapters have often been associated with other left-wing militant groups like Antifa and have been involved in violent attacks.

Hans-Jakob Schindler, former coordinator of the UN monitoring committee on militant groups, told AFP: “The risk that Islamic State Khorasan sees these newly arrived Afghans as a potential recruitment pool is high.” He noted that since 2021, IS-K has recruited both disaffected Taliban members and Afghans excluded from the new governing structures. Schindler says “Many foiled attacks in Europe between 2023 and 2025 have been linked back to the Islamic State.”

Counter Extremism Project Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed: Israel's ground assault on Gaza City is supposed to wipe out Hamas's remaining strongholds. But the group has shown remarkable resilience over nearly two years of war and may even be gaining new recruits.

 

Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), notes that Islamist extremists are skilled at exploiting legal loopholes in Europe, citing imprisoned British Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary as a key example. “Anjem Choudary magically knew everyone who was a terrorist and going toward these groups in the U.K. over three decades. It took half a dozen attempts before the guy was actually in prison, because he was very smart in the way he formulated his messaging,” Schindler said, adding that Choudary “was very deliberate in how far he would take those contacts. He would radicalize the people, but once they became terrorists, they no longer had any contact with him.

Counter Extremism Project (CEP) Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler was quoted regarding Russian intrusion into NATO airspace as part of its hybrid warfare.  

“Active clubs are exploiting the assassination of Charlie Kirk for recruitment purposes, specifically urging white men to join the movement,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, a professional analyst who researches the far right. “In online posts, active clubs have also stated that the current environment presents an opportunity to expand the movement, claiming that regular people are receptive to their ‘radical message’.”

Online extremism is a growing issue affecting more kids in a world where social media addiction is prevalent and real-world connections are often replaced by online interactions, according to the Counter Extremism Project [CEP]. Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler is the senior director at [CEP], an international nonprofit and non-partisan policy organization that researches and educates people about threats posed by extremist ideologies.