Feds: White Supremacists Tried to Start Race War

Two suspects said to be leaders of a white supremacist group are now facing criminal charges, with federal prosecutors alleging they took to the Telegram messaging platform to incite a race war by going after the Black, LGBTQ+, Jewish, and immigrant communities. The indictment accuses 34-year-old Dallas Humber of California and 37-year-old Matthew Allison of Idaho of creating a document that spelled out how to carry out terror attacks, including with DIY bombs, that targeted not only marginalized groups, but also government officials and important infrastructure sites. The group's overarching goal? "Causing societal collapse in the United States," DOJ officials said during a news conference, per Reuters.

Humber and Allison were said to have taken on leadership roles at the so-called Terrorgram Collective in 2022, after its previous leader was arrested and hit with terrorism charges, per the Washington Post, which details some Telegram users who were inspired to carry out violence based on the group's messages on the platform. Humber and Allison are accused of heading on to Telegram to put up lists of targets—complete with names, photos, and addresses—they wanted killed, based on the potential victims' religion, race, national origin, or gender identity. An "Anti-White, Anti-gun, Jewish Senator" was also on the target list, as was a federal US attorney, who had a racial slur hurled their way, per the indictment.

In a statement cited by Axios, Attorney General Merrick Garland called the arrests "a warning that committing hate-fueled crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and soliciting terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you." He added: "The United States Department of Justice will find you, and we will hold you accountable." The defendants, who face charges including soliciting hate crimes and conspiring to provide material support to terrorism, could see up to 20 years behind bars if convicted of the more serious charges. Telegram's founder, Pavel Durov, was charged with a series of crimes himself last month in France. (More white supremacists stories.)