A Tennessee man described by federal prosecutors as an original member of two nihilistic violent extremist groups has been sentenced to 77 years in prison for sexually exploiting minors and helping distribute animal-crushing videos.
Kyle William Spitze, 27, of Friendsville, received what the Justice Department called the longest federal prison sentence imposed on a nihilistic violent extremist. Following his incarceration, Spitze will remain under lifetime supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
Spitze, who used online names including “Crimhn,” “Criminal” and “Criminaloli,” belonged to the network known as 764 and served as an administrator of the affiliated group HarmNation, according to prosecutors.
Federal authorities describe 764 and similar networks as loosely organized online groups that target children and other vulnerable people. Members allegedly use social media to distribute child sexual abuse material and graphic violent content while coercing victims into sexual acts, self-harm, animal abuse or violence.
The FBI began investigating HarmNation in December 2023 after receiving reports that members were distributing child sexual abuse material. Investigators said Spitze operated an online channel containing sexually explicit images of minor girls who had injured themselves and marked their bodies with variations of his online name.
A February 2024 search of Spitze’s cellphone uncovered additional images and videos involving two minors, prosecutors said. One victim told investigators that Spitze threatened her into producing material that he subsequently posted online.
According to the Justice Department, Spitze acknowledged that his crimes were motivated by a desire to advance the network’s extremist objectives.
Spitze pleaded guilty to two counts of producing child sexual exploitation material, one count of aiding the distribution of animal-crushing videos and one count of possessing and accessing child sexual exploitation material with intent to view it.
Federal prosecutors characterized HarmNation and 764 as nihilistic violent extremist networks seeking to undermine society by exploiting vulnerable people and encouraging terrorism or mass-casualty violence.
“This sentence reflects the abhorrent nature of the defendant’s crimes, which targeted impressionable children and caused unimaginable harm,” U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III for the Eastern District of Tennessee said in a statement.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kolman prosecuted it with assistance from the Justice Department’s National Security Division.
The prosecution was also part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative established in 2006 to coordinate federal, state and local investigations of child sexual exploitation.
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