The U.S. Justice Department said the suspects led an “international terrorist group” to incite hate crimes.
According to the Justice Department, prosecutors say two individuals motivated by white supremacist ideology used the social media messaging app Telegram to promote violence against minorities, government officials and critical infrastructure in the United States.
Defendants Dallas Erin Humber and Matthew Robert Allison were identified Monday, days after their arrests.
They face 15 federal charges, including inciting a hate crime in California, murdering a federal officer, distributing bomb-making instructions and providing material support to terrorists.
Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho, were taken into custody Friday. It was not immediately clear whether either man had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The indictment accuses the two of leading an “international terrorist group” called the Terrorgram Collective, which operated on Telegram and espoused white supremacist ideology.
Leaders of international terrorist group charged with conspiring to commit hate crimes, incite murder of federal officials and provide material support to terrorists
🔗: https://t.co/LinF7suA5k pic.twitter.com/xKOrkqQn3b
— US Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) September 9, 2024
Justice Department officials said the men used the app to send bomb-making instructions and distribute lists of potential assassination targets, including federal judges, senators and former U.S. prosecutors.
Prosecutors also alleged that the suspect used social media platforms to praise people accused of violent acts or plots to commit them, such as the stabbing deaths of five people outside a mosque in Turkey last month.
“I think it would be difficult to overstate the danger and the crisis that this group poses,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olson, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said at a news conference.
According to the indictment unsealed Monday, the pair included statements such as “act now” and “do your part” in their calls to action.
“Today’s action demonstrates the Department’s commitment to holding accountable perpetrators of bias-motivated violence, including those who hide behind a computer screen,” said Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Christine Clark, the department’s chief civil rights officer.
The Justice Department’s announcement comes amid heightened concerns about political violence ahead of the November U.S. presidential election, which features Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities last month on charges of allowing the platform to be used for criminal activities. Durov denies the charges.
