DOJ: 764-linked extremist network leader sentenced to 40 years in prison

A San Antonio man tied to a nihilistic violent extremist network was sentenced to 40 years in prison for racketeering and child sexual exploitation crimes, the Justice Department announced.

Alexis Aldair Chavez, 19, who went by the online aliases “Zack” and “Zack8884,” was an administrator and online leader of the “8884” network, a group linked to the larger 764 network, prosecutors said. In addition to the prison term, Chavez received lifetime supervised release and was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, the department said.

Members of these networks pursue accelerationist goals aimed at social unrest and the collapse of the current world order, including the U.S. government, prosecutors said. They work together to destroy civilized society through the exploitation of vulnerable populations, particularly minors, according to the Justice Department, coercing victims into self-mutilation, sexual acts, animal abuse, violence, threats of violence, suicide and murder.

“Chavez’s crimes reveal the ruthless exploitation and manipulation at the core of NVE groups,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, adding that the National Security Division would use “every resource at its disposal” to identify and prosecute 764-linked criminality and protect vulnerable victims.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas said parents need to stay engaged in their children’s online activity and not assume they are “just playing games.” Acting FBI Counterterrorism Division Assistant Director Coult Markovsky and FBI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Daniel Faith also emphasized the bureau’s commitment to identifying, investigating and dismantling violent extremist networks that target children.

According to court documents, in October 2023 Chavez and a co-conspirator attempted to have a minor female kill herself by overdosing on pills during a recorded video chat to obtain “content” that would increase their status within the 8884 network. About two months later, Chavez and the same victim worked together to coerce an overseas female into stripping naked on camera, cutting herself and engaging in sexual acts, while also extorting another victim into cutting the name “Zack” into her skin.

Court documents state that around Dec. 29, 2023, Chavez and a co-conspirator coerced another minor female into cutting her tongue and torturing and killing a cat during a live video call. That same month, Chavez and another co-conspirator also groomed and extorted several other minor females, including forcing one victim to set her arm on fire during a recorded video chat and another to drink her own urine and attempt an overdose. On Jan. 23, 2024, Chavez and a co-conspirator threatened and coerced another minor female victim into sexually obscene activities and other egregious acts, prosecutors said.

Chavez was arrested Oct. 24, 2024, and pleaded guilty Dec. 19, 2025, to one count each of racketeering, distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography, according to the Justice Department.

The FBI San Antonio Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the FBI Washington Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark Roomberg and Bill Harris for the Western District of Texas, along with National Security Division Counterterrorism Section Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly, are prosecuting the case, which was brought under Project Safe Childhood.