Leaders of Transnational Terrorist Group Charged with Soliciting Hate Crimes, Soliciting the Murder of Federal Officials, and Conspiring to Provide Material Support to Terrorists
The Justice Department announced today that Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho — leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group — were charged with a 15-count indictment for soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. Humber and Allison were arrested on Friday by law enforcement officials.
“Today’s indictment charges the defendants with leading a transnational terrorist group dedicated to attacking America’s critical infrastructure, targeting a hit list of our country’s public officials, and carrying out deadly hate crimes — all in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Today’s arrests are 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. The United States Department of Justice will find you, and we will hold you accountable.”
“We allege that the leaders of Terrorgram charged today are a threat to public safety and the rule of law,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using the Telegram platform, they advanced their heinous white supremacist ideology, solicited hate crimes, and provided guidance and instructions for terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure and assassinations of government officials. Today’s action reaffirms that the Department of Justice will not tolerate this alleged abhorrent conduct. It has no place in America or anywhere else. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify, apprehend, and hold accountable anyone who engages in such activity, no matter where they are located.”
“These defendants are alleged to be the leaders of Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group that our investigation found is responsible for soliciting hate crimes and the murder of government officials and providing support to terrorists,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Whether motivated by racial bias or antagonism toward government and societal norms, such behavior will not be tolerated. Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority, and working with our partners we are committed to investigating and holding accountable those who break the laws and assist violent actors in lethal plots.”
“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This indictment charges the leaders of a transnational terrorist group with several civil rights violations, including soliciting others to engage in hate crimes and terrorist attacks against Black, immigrant, LGBT, and Jewish people. Make no mistake, as hate groups turn to online platforms, the federal government is adapting and responding to protect vulnerable communities. The Justice Department is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, and we will resolutely strive to bring to justice those who seek to threaten, undermine, or extinguish it.”
“As alleged, Humber and Allison, the leaders of Terrorgram, conspired to provide material support and solicited attacks on federal officials and critical government infrastructure, including federal buildings and energy facilities,” said Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division. “Today’s charges demonstrate the Justice Department’s resolve to bring every available tool to bear in countering threats of violent extremists and protecting Americans.”
“The defendants solicited murders and hate crimes based on the race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity of others,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “They also doxed and solicited the murder of federal officials, conspired to provide material support to terrorists, and distributed information about explosives that they intended to be used in committing crimes of violence. My office will continue to work tirelessly with our partners in law enforcement and in the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who commit such violations of federal criminal law. I would like to thank the FBI and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and National Security Division for their partnership in support of the common mission to keep our people and public officials safe from hate-fueled crimes of violence.”
According to the indictment, which was unsealed today, Humber and Allison are the leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group that operates on the digital messaging platform Telegram, where it promotes white supremacist accelerationism: an ideology centered on the belief that the white race is superior; that society is irreparably corrupt and cannot be saved by political action; and that violence and terrorism are necessary to ignite a race war and accelerate the collapse of the government and the rise of a white ethnostate.
The indictment alleges that Humber and Allison, as leaders of the Terrorgram Collective, contributed to and disseminated several Terrorgram videos and publications that provide specific advice for carrying out crimes, celebrate white supremacist attacks, and provide a hit list of “high-value targets” for assassination. The hit list included U.S. federal, state, and local officials, as well as leaders of private companies and non-governmental organizations, many of whom were targeted because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
Humber and Allison are alleged to have operated Terrorgram channels and group chats, where they solicited Terrorgram users to commit attacks in order to achieve Terrorgram’s goals of accelerationism and white supremacy and provided instructions and guidance to equip Terrorgram users to carry out those attacks. These attacks include but are not limited to:
- Bias-motivated attacks against those deemed by Terrorgram to be enemies of the white race;
- Terrorist attacks on government infrastructure, such as government buildings and energy facilities, which Terrorgram believes will ignite a race war and help accelerate the collapse of government and society; and
- Attacks on “high-value targets” — like politicians and government officials — whose murders Terrorgram believes would sow chaos and further accelerate the government’s downfall.
They also incited Terrorgram users to commit attacks in furtherance of white supremacist accelerationism, including the following individuals who were allegedly inspired or guided by Humber, Allison, and other members of the Terrorgram Collective to carry out attacks or were planning to do so when they were arrested by law enforcement:
- An individual who shot three people (killing two) outside of an LGBT bar in Slovakia;
- An individual who planned an attack on energy facilities in New Jersey; and
- An individual who stabbed five people near a mosque in Turkey.
The indictment charges Humber and Allison with a total of 15 counts, including one count of conspiracy, four counts of soliciting hate crimes, three counts of soliciting the murder of federal officials, three counts of doxing federal officials, one count of threatening communications, two counts of distributing bombmaking instructions, and one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
If convicted of all charges, Humber and Allison each face a maximum penalty of 220 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The FBI Sacramento Field Office and FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho and a variety of foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, National Security Division, and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Source: Justice.gov
