TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A group with a mission similar to the Ku Klux Klan has been operating in Tallahassee, actively looking for more members.
The "Republic of Florida" hails itself as a white nationalist group that encourages militia training.
The Leon County Sheriff's Office says it knows about the group and its members, but it's not considered to be actively monitoring.
The group, based in Tallahassee, is asking residents to fight the government, push for secession and return to a white "ethno-state" - encouraging armed combat training for potential battle as part of 10 codes members must follow. Others include allegiance to European lineage and forbidding interracial and same-sex relationships.
The Southern Poverty Law Center listed the group as part of its "Hatewatch" in 2015, but now, there seems to be a resurgence.
"I really feel like they're not any different from a terrorist group in the Middle East or anywhere else -- or even just like a gang," said Tallahassee resident Jay Godin in a phone interview with WTXL Tuesday.
About a month ago, Godin said members of the group started attacking his friends on social media. When he stepped in to try and educate the group, he said members threatened him.
"[They] told me to come out to Apalachee Parkway at the Walmart where they distribute their propaganda, and 'we could settle it then,'" Godin said.
On its website, the Republic of Florida vows to "fight to the death" for their rights and that the federal government will "never look out for their best interests."
Godin says it's this type of mentality that could turn into something very dangerous.
"We're in a time where we should all be trying to work together," he said. "These people try to push a stake even further into a divide that already exists."
WTXL reached out to the "Republic of Florida" for comment, but the group was unavailable at the time the report was aired.
