Two leaders of a white supremacist group have been charged after allegedly plotting assassinations and terrorist attacks that they hoped would bring on a race war.
In a 37-page indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors on Monday, Dallas Erin Humber, 34, and Matthew Robert Allison, 37, were accused of leading a network of channels on the Telegram app that promoted "white supremacist accelerationism."
Court filings said the ideology was "centered on the belief that the white race is superior," and the leaders hoped to start a race war that would collapse the government to create a "white ethnostate."
The men were accused of soliciting members of the so-called Terrorgram Collective to carry out assassinations and critical infrastructure.
The court filings said that a U.S. senator, a federal district judge, and a former U.S. attorney were included on a hit list of "high-value" targets. State and local officials and leaders of private companies and nongovernmental organizations were listed.
The indictment alleged that the men told members to "take action now" and assassinate the targets. Members were said to have been provided with instructions on making bombs and finding federal buildings.
Prosecutors said that the white supremacist leaders inspired plots in the U.S. and around the world. During a 2022 attack in Slovakia, two people were killed at an LGBTQ bar. Five were stabbed in a knife attack outside a mosque in Turkey. In the U.S., law enforcement foiled a member's planned attack on an energy facility.
Assistant Attorney General Matt Olsen said the crimes went beyond "mere words" because attackers were equipped with actionable plans.
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"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," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "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."
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France last month, where prosecutors alleged that his platform had been used for criminal activity. Telegram has since agreed to increase the moderation of private chats.
