A 17-year-old Maine resident has become the first juvenile in the United States to be federally charged, adjudicated and detained for criminal acts connected to the violent online extremist network known as 764, federal authorities announced Tuesday.
The teenager, whose identity has not been released because of federal juvenile privacy laws, was found to have committed a disturbing range of offenses involving child sexual exploitation, cyberstalking, threats and identity theft, according to the FBI’s Boston Division.
Federal officials said the teen will serve a term of official detention followed by juvenile delinquent supervision. Authorities did not publicly disclose the length of the detention.
The case marks the first time a juvenile has been federally charged and adjudicated for conduct associated with 764 — a decentralized collection of online groups federal investigators describe as nihilistic violent extremists, or NVE.
According to the FBI, the Maine teenager was found delinquent for acts including conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, sexual exploitation and enticement of a child, distribution of child sexual abuse material, interstate threats, cyberstalking and identity theft.
The case is particularly noteworthy because federal prosecutions of juveniles are relatively uncommon.
Ted Docks, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said the prosecution should put other young people involved in the network on notice that their age will not necessarily protect them from federal consequences.
“This first-in-the-nation case should make it crystal clear that if you conspire to commit violent, extremist crimes, your age will not shield you from accountability,” Docks said.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine Andrew Benson delivered a similar warning.
“If you sexually exploit a child, the fact that you yourself are a minor will not protect you from the consequences of your actions,” Benson said.
What is the 764 network?
The Maine case offers a disturbing glimpse into an online extremist movement federal authorities say is increasingly targeting children.
The FBI describes 764 not as a conventional organization with a single leader or command structure, but as a loose collection of interconnected online networks and offshoot groups.
Federal investigators say participants frequently seek out minors and other vulnerable people through social media, messaging applications, gaming platforms and other online communities.
The relationships can initially appear friendly before evolving into manipulation, threats, blackmail and extortion.
Investigators say victims have been pressured into producing sexually explicit material, harming themselves, abusing siblings or pets and engaging in increasingly violent acts. In some cases, authorities say victims have been encouraged to attempt suicide.
The FBI says the activity goes beyond sexual exploitation alone.
Members motivated by nihilistic violent extremist ideology seek, according to investigators, to corrupt vulnerable people, generate chaos and undermine society through violence and exploitation.
Some groups also deliberately recruit other juveniles.
“These groups actively target minors and are made up of a large percentage of minors,” Docks said.
That dynamic presents law enforcement with an unusual challenge: children can simultaneously become victims, recruits and, in some cases, perpetrators.
More than 500 subjects under investigation
The Maine prosecution comes as the federal investigation into 764 and related networks continues to expand.
The FBI said Tuesday it is now investigating more than 500 subjects nationwide connected to violent online networks commonly associated with the 764 name or its numerous offshoots.
Earlier estimates were already substantial. By late 2025, federal investigators were examining hundreds of suspected participants across the country, prompting congressional scrutiny over the government’s response to the network.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said the Maine case demonstrates the seriousness with which federal authorities are approaching the threat.
“The shocking and disturbing nature of the criminal conduct uncovered in this case, committed by a juvenile, required a forceful response to protect the public from predatory nihilistic violent extremism,” Eisenberg said.
Federal officials are also urging Maine parents to pay particular attention to their children’s online activity.
The FBI recommends that parents and victims preserve usernames, email addresses, platform information and other digital evidence if they suspect someone is being threatened, extorted or manipulated online.
For Maine, the prosecution now places the state at the center of a growing national law-enforcement effort targeting one of the internet’s more disturbing extremist subcultures, and establishes that federal prosecutors are willing to pursue juveniles when investigators believe their conduct crosses the line from online radicalization into serious criminal activity.
Tree limb jig! Irredeemable
This kid could have a future in politics. He makes Eliot Cutler look like an angel.
There is nothing edgy, rebellious, or “misunderstood” about 764. It is a sewer of exploitation, coercion, cruelty, and violence dressed up as internet subculture. Anyone who preys on vulnerable kids, spreads abuse material, encourages self-harm, or terrorizes people for entertainment deserves to be exposed, prosecuted, and removed from the spaces they use to hunt for victims.
And the fact that Maine now has the first federally adjudicated juvenile tied to this network is not some quirky headline. It is a warning that this poison is reaching kids right here at home.
At least the FBI is investigating real criminal behavior now