A 23-year-old was arrested for gun possession. It led the FBI to a global Satanic cult

An arrest on gun possession charges in Queens, New York, in November 2021 has led the Federal Bureau of Investigation to a pedophilic, Satanist extortion cult that has victimized dozens if not hundreds of minors, according to law enforcement documents, court records and sources with knowledge of the investigation.

Law enforcement discovered the organization, known as 764 and a range of aliases, while investigating alarming social media posts made by Angel Almeida, a 23-year-old resident of Astoria, Queens.

On 12 September 2023, the FBI issued a public warning about 764, noting the group is “deliberately targeting minor victims on publicly available messaging platforms to extort them into recording or livestreaming acts of self-harm and producing child sexual abuse material”. The advisory is the first formal mention of 764 by any American law enforcement agency.

The group appears to target children between the ages of eight and 17, the advisory notes, and particularly focuses on young people of color, youth identifying as LGBTQ+ or youth who struggle with mental health issues. Researchers familiar with 764 indicate the group’s members cultivate ties with minors through a wide range of platforms: either in wildly popular games like Roblox or gaming communications platforms like Discord and Twitch, as well as curated playlists on the streaming service SoundCloud. The group’s main form of communication is on Telegram, which has long been the platform of choice for many far-right extremists.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/28/new-york-satanic-cult-764-fbi

Pretty scary stuff.