Alexis Aldair Chavez, 19, of San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced on July 8, 2026, to 40 years in federal prison, lifetime supervised release and $10,000 in restitution. He led “8884,” an offshoot of 764, an online extremist network whose members recruit children on Discord, Roblox, Telegram and other gaming platforms, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The 764 network seeks to bring about the collapse of Western civilization. Its members work toward that goal by corrupting and exploiting children and other vulnerable people. Members are typically between 11 and 25 years old.
“Chavez’s crimes reveal the ruthless exploitation and manipulation at the core of nihilistic violent extremist groups,” said John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security, according to a Department of Justice statement published on July 8, 2026. “These organizations target children as part of their broader mission to spread terror.”
Chavez, who also went by “Zack” and “Zack8884,” joined 764 in 2022, at age 15. A co-conspirator introduced him to 7997, one of the network’s many offshoots. He later became an administrator of 8884.
The 764 network was founded in 2021 by Bradley Chance Cadenhead, then 15 years old. Cadenhead was arrested that same year and sentenced to 80 years in prison in 2023. The FBI now has more than 300 open investigations tied to 764 across the United States.
Court records filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas describe what “corrupting and exploiting children” meant in practice for 8884.
WHAT THE COURT RECORDS SHOW
In October 2023, Chavez and a co-conspirator tried to get a teenage girl to kill herself during a video call. They pushed her to overdose on pills and recorded the attempt as “content” meant to raise their status within 8884, according to the Justice Department.
Two months later, Chavez and that same victim forced another teenage girl, located overseas, to strip on camera, cut herself and produce sexual content. Another victim was forced to carve the name “Zack” into her own skin.
On Dec. 29, 2023, Chavez and a co-conspirator forced a minor to cut her tongue, then made her torture and kill a cat during a livestreamed video call.
That same month, other victims were forced to drink their own urine, attempt to overdose on unknown pills, or burn their own arms. On Jan. 23, 2024, Chavez and a co-conspirator threatened another minor and coerced her into filmed sexual acts, according to the indictment.
THE ARREST
The FBI searched Chavez’s home in July 2024. He ran out the back door and threw his phone over a neighbor’s fence in an attempt to destroy evidence, according to CyberScoop. He was arrested in October 2024.
Chavez pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2025, to one count of racketeering, one count of distributing child sexual abuse material and one count of possessing it. He had faced up to 60 years in prison.
PLATFORMS BUILT FOR CHILDREN
“These predators use social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, chat rooms and video services to groom vulnerable children,” said Daniel Faith, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Antonio Field Office, in the same July 8, 2026 statement.
Justin R. Simmons, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, urged parents to pay attention. “Parents need to know what their children are doing online and must stay engaged, ask difficult questions, and not fall into the trap of believing their child is ‘just playing games’ or ‘just talking with their friends,'” he said in the statement. “There is darkness present within many people in this world that want nothing more than to see the United States and western civilization fail.”
A RARE BUT REPEAT-PRONE PROFILE
Allison Nixon, chief research officer at the cybersecurity firm Unit 221B, told CyberScoop on July 9, 2026, that this kind of offender is rare but predictable. “In this space, a certain personality profile is highly predictive of who will risk a prison sentence like this: an obsession with maximizing harm,” she said.
Reoffending after release remains a major problem, Nixon said. The wider ecosystem that includes 764, known as “the Com,” is estimated by researchers to include as many as 10,000 active participants worldwide.
“True rehabilitation is the best outcome, but no one knows how.”
— Allison Nixon, chief research officer, Unit 221B, July 9, 2026
