Minor arrested, considered the main reference of the extremist group 764 in the State

BarcelonaThis is an extremist and violent network, dedicated to recruiting and exploiting minors online, which encourages its members to exchange child pornography and images of extreme sexual violence. It is called 764 and this week the alleged leader of the group in Spain was arrested. A joint operation by the Mossos, the Ertzaintza and the Guardia Civil has led to the arrest in Gipuzkoa of a 17-year-old minor who allegedly sent threats to educational centers, town halls, social associations, public bodies and various personalities.

The young man announced shootings, armed attacks and other violent actions that did not occur, although they generated social alarm and forced the deployment of extraordinary security measures, according to the Mossos d'Esquadra. The detainee was brought before the court and is serving a precautionary measure of confinement in a specialized center. The detainee is considered the main reference in Spain for the extremist organization, a transnational network that operates mainly via the internet and seeks to recruit and influence vulnerable minors and young people.

The 764 network originated in the United States and takes its name from the first three digits of the postal code of Stephenville (Texas), the town where its founder was born. Over the years, it evolved from a marginal virtual community to an international structure with a presence in several countries. Its members use instant messaging platforms, social networks, and spaces frequented by minors to locate and recruit potential victims. It is considered one of the most dangerous communities to emerge on the internet in recent years, and several security agencies maintain open investigations into its activities. Canada has declared it a terrorist entity, and for the FBI, it is a level 1 terrorist group.

This organization has been investigated in several countries for its connection with crimes such as sextortion, organized harassment, distribution of child sexual exploitation material, incitement to self-harm, dissemination of extreme violence content, animal abuse, and campaigns of threats and harassment against institutions, social entities, and individuals. The detainee is allegedly attributed with sending numerous threats directed at educational centers, town halls, libraries, social associations, public bodies, and various personalities between January and April 2026.

In all the threats, he referred to his supposed membership in the organization 764 and, in some cases, stated that he would broadcast live, via an online platform, the murders he intended to commit so that they would be witnessed by other members of the group. Among the investigated facts, threats directed at a well-known leisure center and at various individuals also stand out.

Psychological manipulation

The investigation also revealed the use of swatting, doxing and identity theft, practices common in extremist internet communities. The objective, according to the Mossos, was to falsely target innocent third parties to provoke police interventions, generate risky situations, and divert investigators' attention. As a consequence of these actions, at least two people, one in the Basque Country and another in Catalonia, were victims of harassment campaigns linked to the investigated events.

The investigations also revealed that the detainee maintained contacts and participated in digital spaces where psychological manipulation dynamics were promoted on minors and vulnerable young people. In these environments, behaviors of extreme humiliation, self-harm, and submission to the will of the recruiters were encouraged. Among the detected practices were acts of self-harm in which victims were allegedly induced to record themselves cutting their arms, even writing names or aliases related to the recruiters on their skin.

References were also found to degrading behaviors consisting of forcing certain victims to display messages written in blood or excrement, and also to perform humiliating acts to subsequently disseminate the images within the virtual community as a mechanism of control and submission.