Wolves of Vinland is a Norse neopagan group based in the outskirts of Lynchburg, Virginia. Matthias Waggener has described the group as an "Odinic Wolfcult". The group was able to raise $3000 on GoFundMe to raise money to build a Viking-style longhall, and was helped in this campaign by several prominent white nationalist organizations such as Counter Currents Publishing. Members of the group routinely sacrifice animals and post photos of them on Instagram. Author Jack Donovan is an outspoken supporter of the Wolves, as is Youth for Western Civilization founder Kevin DeAnna. One marketing coordinator for World Net Daily supported the building of the longhall as well, despite World Net Daily's ostensibly Christian orientation.
The group also regards environmentalism and living close to the land as important. They have been described as "Eco Punks" by Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine, which profiled the group in an article. The article characterized the group as an intentional community that prizes physical activity, combat exercises, and self-reliance, and compared them to a biker gang. On their plot of land which they own communally and call "Ulfheim," there are multiple off-the grid houses, as well as a large communal building. According to the magazine, there are now over 30 members, and the group has offshoots in Wyoming and Colorado. Since 2016, their association with the American Black Metal scene has fed the development of a Wolves' inlet in Baltimore, Maryland.
The New York Times has identified the Wolves of Vinland as the center of an "environmentalist component" of the alt-right political movement.
The group has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for espousing white nationalist and racist beliefs, as well as using white nationalist symbolism such as the swastika and associating with the white nationalist think-tank National Policy Institute.
A Spanish-language magazine compared the group to Fight Club and Tyler Durden.
Author Alex Knepper interviewed several members of the group and reported that there is disagreement among them over whether the "Folk" is defined to include only those of Nordic ancestry, or all Europeans.
Legal issues
One member of the group, Maurice "Hjalti" Michaely, served two years in prison after being found guilty of attempting to burn down a historic black church. The fire did not harm anyone but did cause $1 million in damage. After his arrest, group members began wearing T-shirts that said "Free Hjalti".