Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Known as the "Hillbilly Donnie Brasco," FBI agent Scott Payne risked his life to expose violent neo-Nazi cells threatening national security, including the KKK and biker gangs.
Payne began his law enforcement career at the Greenville County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina, where he worked for five years as a uniform patrol officer and a vice and narcotics investigator. He signed up for the FBI in 1998 and was assigned to the New York, San Antonio, and Knoxville field offices, working against drug trafficking, human trafficking, and domestic terrorism. In 2005, he went undercover with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Massachusetts. In 2017, he helped arrest a white nationalist who planned an attack on a synagogue. In 2019, he embedded himself with US extremist groups as part of an FBI investigation to avert a mass shooting planned by a white nationalist group called The Base.
Payne talks to Business Insider about undercover protocol, creating legends, whether agents use burner phones, the ethics of undercover work, and surveillance techniques. He also voices his opinions on changes to the FBI since he started and what the future holds for the agency's leadership.
Since leaving the service in 2021, he has become a professional speaker with Eradicate Hate. He is the author of "Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis."
For more:
@ScottPayneBigCountry
simonandschuster.com/books/Code-Name-Pale-Horse/Scott-Payne/9781668032909
Read the article version of this video: https://trib.al/u9o020J
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - The Outlaws
04:28 - A Close Call
14:15 - The Base
26:37 - The Persona
30:28 - The Training
35:33 - Crooked Cops
41:16 - Myrtle Beach
45:54 - Emotional Ties
48:50 - The Trials
50:50 - The Future
52:54 - The Aftermath
55:36 - Credits
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How FBI Undercover Agents Actually Work | Authorized Account | Insider
Known as the "Hillbilly Donnie Brasco," FBI agent Scott Payne risked his life to expose violent neo-Nazi cells threatening national security, including the KKK and biker gangs.
Payne began his law enforcement career at the Greenville County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina, where he worked for five years as a uniform patrol officer and a vice and narcotics investigator. He signed up for the FBI in 1998 and was assigned to the New York, San Antonio, and Knoxville field offices, working against drug trafficking, human trafficking, and domestic terrorism. In 2005, he went undercover with the Outlaws Motorcycle Club in Massachusetts. In 2017, he helped arrest a white nationalist who planned an attack on a synagogue. In 2019, he embedded himself with US extremist groups as part of an FBI investigation to avert a mass shooting planned by a white nationalist group called The Base.
Payne talks to Business Insider about undercover protocol, creating legends, whether agents use burner phones, the ethics of undercover work, and surveillance techniques. He also voices his opinions on changes to the FBI since he started and what the future holds for the agency's leadership.
Since leaving the service in 2021, he has become a professional speaker with Eradicate Hate. He is the author of "Code Name: Pale Horse: How I Went Undercover to Expose America's Nazis."
For more:
@ScottPayneBigCountry
simonandschuster.com/books/Code-Name-Pale-Horse/Scott-Payne/9781668032909
Read the article version of this video: https://trib.al/u9o020J
00:00 - Intro
00:36 - The Outlaws
04:28 - A Close Call
14:15 - The Base
26:37 - The Persona
30:28 - The Training
35:33 - Crooked Cops
41:16 - Myrtle Beach
45:54 - Emotional Ties
48:50 - The Trials
50:50 - The Future
52:54 - The Aftermath
55:36 - Credits
Insider's mission is to inform and inspire.
Visit our homepage for the top stories of the day: businessinsider.com
Insider on Facebook: facebook.com/insider
Insider on Instagram: instagram.com/insider
Insider on Twitter: twitter.com/thisisinsider
Insider on Snapchat: snapchat.com/discover/Insider/2708030621
Insider on TikTok: tiktok.com/@insider
How FBI Undercover Agents Actually Work | Authorized Account | Insider
