DOJ charges 2 in white nationalist 'Terrorgram' plot

What happened

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment yesterday against two Americans it accused of running an online "transnational terrorist group" dedicated to fostering attacks on public officials and infrastructure "in the name of violent white supremacist ideology," Attorney General Merrick Garland said. The indictment identified Dallas Humber, 34, and Matthew Allison, 37, as leaders of the "Terrorgram Collective," a network of channels and group chats on Telegram.

Who said what

Humber and Allison were arrested Friday in California and Idaho, respectively, on 15 counts including soliciting murder and providing material support to terrorists. The DOJ said the pair took over Terrorgram in 2022 and urged followers to kill certain "high value targets," including a U.S. senator and a federal judge. The alleged goal of the violence was to ignite a "race war" and bring about a "white ethnostate." The hit list included names, addresses and photos, the indictment said, and the pair distributed detailed instructions on how to carry out a terrorist attack, including how to make bombs. "These are not mere words," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said. "Terrorgram users have carried out, or planned, attacks," including the stabbing of five people in Turkey last month, an attempt to destroy an electrical substation in New Jersey in July and a 2022 fatal shooting outside an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia.

What next?

Humber pleaded not guilty on Monday and Allison is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up