The U.S. Justice Department says the suspects led a “transnational terrorist group” to solicit hate crimes.
Two individuals who prosecutors say were motivated by white supremacist ideology used the social messaging app Telegram to encourage acts of violence against minorities, government officials and critical infrastructure in the United States, the Justice Department said.
The defendants, Dallas Erin Humber and Matthew Robert Allison, were identified Monday, days after their arrests.
They face 15 federal charges in California, including charges of soliciting hate crimes and murder of federal officials, distributing bomb-making instructions and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, were arrested Friday. It was not immediately clear if either of them had an attorney who could speak on their behalf.
The indictment accuses the pair of leading a “transnational terrorist group” known as the Terrorgram Collective, which operates on Telegram and promotes white supremacist ideology.
Leaders of a transnational terrorist group charged with soliciting hate crimes, soliciting the murder of federal officials, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists
🔗: image.twitter.com/xKOrkqQn3b
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 9, 2024
Justice Department officials say the men used the app to transmit bomb-making instructions and distribute a list of potential targets to be assassinated, including a federal judge, a senator and a former U.S. attorney.
Prosecutors also allege the suspect used the social media platform to celebrate people accused of acts or plots of violence, such as the stabbing last month of five people outside a mosque in Turkey.
“I think it would be difficult to overstate the danger and the risks that this group posed,” Deputy Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department's top national security official, said at a news conference.
The couple's exhortations to commit violence included statements such as “Act now” and “Do your part,” according to an indictment made public Monday.
“Today's action makes clear that the department will hold perpetrators accountable, including those hiding behind computer screens, as they attempt to carry out acts of bias-motivated violence,” said Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke, the department's top civil rights official.
The Justice Department's announcement comes amid growing fears of political violence ahead of the November US presidential election, in which Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris faces Republican former President Donald Trump.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested by French authorities last month on charges of allowing the platform to be used for criminal activities. Durov has denied the charges.
