I'm just a dumb American, but are torch hikes something only Nazis do? I've never heard of them.

Why not ask the local Klu Klux Klan chapter in your neighbourhood? They have a "fine" tradition of conducting such hikes.

Most recent example - Charlottesville?

It's not just the torch hikes, though those are strongly associated with Nazis, neo-Nazis, and American white supremacists.

It's also the naming of their mail server after Hitler's hidden base in Poland, and the railing against "cultural marxism" (itself a Nazi trope). Taken together, these things should register as "yep, probably a Nazi" even if one of them alone wouldn't.

> are torch hikes something only Nazis do?

No. Here in France they are sometimes organized as local events, sometimes they're used to --- surprise --- protest. We also have "descente aux flambeaux" (downhill skying with torches.)