Virginia gun rally: Documents allege The Base members hoped Virginia rally would spark civil war

Three alleged members of a white supremacist group “The Base” apparently hoped a gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia, would spark a civil war, in accordance with court records. Federal prosecutors argued that the lads, who have been arrested final week, must be detained pending trial, indicating they’re part of a “domestic terrorism investigation.” 

The three males — Brian Lemley, Jr., William Garfield Bilbrough IV and Canadian nationwide Patrik Jordan Mathews — have been arrested on federal firearms costs within the days earlier than the rally.

“Derail some f***ing trains, kill some people, and poison some water supplies. You better be f***ing ready to do those things,” Mathews allegedly mentioned, in accordance a video he created on December 1 by which he’s sporting a fuel masks to distort his voice and conceal his face. “If you want the white race to survive, you’re going to have to do your f***ing part.”

Investigators have been capable of receive this information partially via surveillance warrants obtained below Title III, which permitted legislation enforcement to put in a closed-circuit digital camera and microphone in Lemley and Mathews’ residence in Delaware.

Authorities additionally executed a so-called “sneak-and-peek” warrant on that residence, which permits entry to the premises with out the data of the residents. During that search, brokers discovered Base propaganda flyers, the components wanted to make an assault rifle, and movies created by Mathews the place he “espous[es] violent, anti-Semitic, and racist language” positioned on his pc.

The surveillance units additionally caught Mathews and Lemley discussing potential violence throughout their journey to Virginia.

“Here’s the thing to, you want to create f***ing some instability, while the Virginia situation is happening, make other things happen, derail some rail lines, f***ing like shut down the highways, oh road block, great lets [sic] shut down the rest of the roads, you know, you can kick off the economic collapse of the U.S. within a week,” Mathews allegedly informed Lemley on December 21.

Two days later, Lemley allegedly informed Mathews, “I literally need, I need to claim my first victim,” whereas discussing focused acts of violence in Virginia.

“You know we got this situation in Virginia where this is going to be, that opportunity is boundless and the thing is you’ve got tons of guys who are just in theory should be radicalized enough to know that all you gotta do is start making things go wrong and if Virginia can spiral out to f***ing full blown civil war,” Mathews later added.

The pair additionally mentioned ambushing a police officer to acquire tactical gear. “If there’s like a PoPo cruiser parked on the street and he doesn’t have backup, I can execute him at a whim and just take his stuff … He literally has zero chance of not being ganked,” Lemley mentioned.

Attorneys for Lemley and Mathews didn’t instantly reply to CBS News’ request for remark.

What is The Base?

Lemley, Mathews and Bilbrough weren’t the one members arrested final week. Law enforcement arrested seven complete members of The Base, which is described in court docket paperwork as a “white supremacist organization” that is mentioned “creating a white ethno-state, committing acts of violence against minority communities (including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans) … and ways to make improvised explosive devices.”

The youngest defendant on this case, William Bilbrough, appeared to take satisfaction in The Base’s stature as a terrorist group, allegedly making statements that “compared The Base favorably to al-Qaeda.” He additionally allegedly informed different Base members that “Isis doesn’t compare to us,” in reference to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

But prosecutors say Bilbrough started to distance himself from The Base in late 2019 so as to focus on his intentions to battle alongside nationalists in Ukraine, even attempting to persuade different Base members to hitch him.

At his preliminary look final week, a court docket appointed lawyer informed the court docket that the faculty scholar was not a flight danger as a result of he doesn’t personal a passport. Bilbrough’s lawyer informed CBS News that after his consumer’s preliminary look, he would argue for the 19-year-old’s launch, however mentioned he would not touch upon the movement.