CSI Sheryl McCollum sits down with retired FBI agent Scott Payne, who went deep undercover inside a violent white supremacist group known as The Base.

From satanic rituals to grooming kids on Roblox, Scott reveals how he earned their trust—and helped bring their network down from the inside.

This is Part 1 of a raw, unfiltered look at radicalization, recruitment, and the real-world tactics used to spread hate.

Scott Payne is a retired FBI agent and career undercover operative. Known for infiltrating some of the most dangerous domestic terror groups in the U.S., he now writes, trains, and advocates for smarter law enforcement strategies—and a second chance for those who truly want out. He’s a believer in justice, redemption, and calling hate by its name.

Follow Scott on Instagram:@scottpaynebigcountry and check out his brand-new book: Code Name: Pale Horse — A raw, real look inside the FBI’s most dangerous undercover ops.

⚠️ Listener Advisory:

This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, animal cruelty, hate group ideology, and child exploitation. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Show Notes:

• (0:00) Sheryl welcomes Scott Payne, retired FBI agent and undercover operator known as Pale Horse
• (1:00) Inside The Base — a newer kind of white supremacy with global connections
• (1:45) Accelerationism explained: why these extremists want to speed up society’s collapse
• (3:15) The man behind the madness: The Base’s leader and his Russian relocation
• (4:00) A darker turn — 764, satanism, and how extremists groom children through platforms like Roblox and Minecraft
• (6:15) Halloween 2019: a hate camp, a cold snap, and a stolen goat that didn’t stand a chance
• (10:00) Operating undercover — “It’s not always cakes and pies.” Into the woods with a machete and a mission
• (15:00) Blood, acid, and a goat’s head — a ritual unfolds over three days with hallucinogens, photo ops, and propaganda designed to radicalize and recruit
• (17:30) “What was your red pill moment?” — the art of playing dumb, feeding egos, and staying undercover without getting made
• (22:00) From felon to future — why Scott wrote a reference letter for the man he once helped put away

Thanks for listening to another episode! If Zone 7 is part of your weekly routine, show us some love with a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more folks find the show—and helps us keep telling these stories.

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Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.

Social Links:

• Email: coldcase2004@gmail.com

• Twitter: @ColdCaseTips

• Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum

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