The Rise Above Movement (RAM) is a militant alt-right Southern California-based street fighting group variously described as "a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists", white nationalist, white supremacist, and far-right. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), it "is inspired by identitarian movements in Europe and is trying to bring the philosophies and violent tactics to the United States." Its members are primarily located in the areas of Orange County and San Diego, and are variously numbered at 20 to 50. Individual RAM members are also members of other organizations, such as the self-described Identitarian Identity Evropa/American Identity Movement, the "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys, and the neo-Nazi skinhead Hammerskin Nation, according to Northern California Anti-Racist Action (NoCARA). The group, which was started by Robert Rundo as DIY Division (DIY standing for Do It Yourself) before changing its name in early 2017, is described as a "militant racist and anti-Semitic group" which sees itself as defending Western civilization, which they claim is being undermined by "Muslims, immigrants and Jews", as well as liberals. The director of the SPLC's Intelligence Project, Heidi Beirich, said that members of the Rise Above Movement "think they're holding onto the old California, which was white, which was conservative, which was male-run, which was connected to the military ... and now that culture is being lost and they're fighting to bring it back. In other words, it's reactive." According to ProPublica, RAM has "...a singular purpose: physically attacking its ideological foes. RAM's members spend weekends training in boxing and other martial arts, and they have boasted publicly of their violence during protests in Huntington Beach, San Bernardino and Berkeley. Many of the altercations have been captured on video ..." Because of its focus on street fighting, it has been described as "less like the Klan and more like a fight club". According to NoCARA: [It is] a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists from Southern California that's organized and trains primarily to engage in fighting and violence at political rallies. They have been a central participant in the recent wave of far-Right protest movements in California during the first half of 2017 which have attempted to mobilize a broad range of right-wing constituents under the banners of protecting so-called "free speech,: unyielding support for Trump, and antipathy towards Muslims, immigrants, and other oppressed groups. The group uses social media to recruit members, emphasizing the