Picciolini, Christian

Christian Marco Picciolini (born November 3, 1973) is an American former extremist and political activist who founded the Free Radicals Project, a nonprofit organization that works to prevent extremism and support individuals in leaving hate groups. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Township Supervisor in Resort Township, Michigan, during the 2024 election. He is the author of a memoir, Romantic Violence: Memoirs of an American Skinhead, which details his time as a leader of the white power movement in the U.S. An updated version of the story was published in 2017, titled White American Youth: My Descent into America's Most Violent Hate Movement--and How I Got Out. His book Breaking Hate: Confronting the New Culture of Extremism (2020) looks at how extremists recruit the vulnerable to their causes.