world
FBI Says Investigations Into 764-Style Online Networks Now Target Over 450 People
The FBI announced on May 14, 2026, that its probe into groups known as 764 now targets more than 450 people, up from more than 350 by late 2025. All 56 FBI field offices are involved in the effort, which spans multiple presidencies. Officials are offering a $25,000 reward for information on one suspect believed to be hiding in the Philippines.
May 14, 4:53 PM·2m read2 sources
DA
hrw.orgAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
FBI investigations of an online child predator network have expanded to target more than 450 people, the bureau said on May 14, 2026. Joe Rothrock, the FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge, issued a statement warning parents and schoolteachers about groups known as 764. The announcement reflects a sharp increase from more than 350 subjects of investigations announced by late 2025.
FBI Dallas is sharing information with parents, guardians, and teachers about violent online networks referred to as 764. Members of 764 often connect with minors on popular online gaming and social media platforms, build their trust by posing as friends, and then coerce them into harming themselves or others, Rothrock said. Similar groups’ beginnings have been traced to at least 2019.
Groups going by names such as 764 lure children into violent online communities and induce them toward self-harm or sexual acts. Some are driven by hatred, sexual gratification, or a desire for chaos. Regardless of their motivation, they have a common target: children and other at-risk individuals, Rothrock said.
The federal crackdown on 764-style networks spans multiple presidencies and now involves all 56 FBI field offices. The Trump administration has increasingly described these groups with the new label Nihilistic Violent Extremists. Nihilistic Violent Extremists are defined as criminals who seek to cause harm primarily from a hatred of society at large and a desire to bring about its collapse by sowing indiscriminate chaos, destruction, and social instability.
Groups fitting that description also promote violence beyond sexual exploitation, including school shootings and political assassinations, and embrace Satanic or Nazi symbolism. Rothrock highlighted his office’s ongoing manhunt for Austin Jan Sy Yatco, a Filipino man with Texas ties.
