US Army Private Ethan Melzer (Also known as Etil Reggard,) in conjunction with the Order of the Nine Angles terrorist group, planned an attack on his unit during a scheduled deployment to Turkey. He pled guilty to it on Friday.
FBI New York Joint Terrorism Task Force as well as police forces and other military departments intercepted the attack.
Melzer had been a member of the terrorist organization since 2017 or earlier, according to the US Department of Justice. While stationed in Italy in 2019, he consumed the media propaganda from the Order of the Nine Angles and other extremist organizations, such as ISIS.
What is Order of the Nine Angles?
Order of the Nine Angles is a terrorist organization known for its Neo-Nazi and white supremacist views. The organization has publicly admired Adolf Hitler and Usama Bin Laden and holds satanic beliefs. Members are ordered to infiltrate governmental bodies to access secure information, gain training, and identify individuals to recruit for the purpose of committing further violence. Melzer enlisted for these reasons.
Upon hearing about his upcoming deployment, Melzer attended pre-mission training where he learned the details of the unit, such as the location including topography, entrances, and surveillance of the base as well as the units’ movements and more. Also shared was the weaponry the unit had, and defense strategies created for the possibility of a terrorist attack occurring.
Melzer then used an encrypted application to send information such as the location, movements, and security to a sub-group of Order of the Nine Angles called RapeWaffen Division. Melzer said in a message that with all the information he was giving consistent with the military training, their attack would “essentially cripple” the unit and its defenses.
Melzer and his co-conspirators labeled the attack a “Jihadi attack” and its objective was mass-casualty.
Having a far Islamist reach
The information was then shared with members of al Qaeda and Melzer demanded the attacks’ success in return for his possible sacrifice of losing his freedom. “[Y]ou just gotta understand that currently, I am risking my literal free life to give you all this,” he said in an encrypted message.
“[Y]ou just gotta understand that currently, I am risking my literal free life to give you all this.”
Ethan Melzer
Melzer plead guilty to the attempted murder of military members, attempting, and providing material support to terrorist organizations and illegally transmitting national defense information that could injure the country. In his statement to the police, Melzer admitted to committing treason.
Melzer is scheduled for sentencing on January 6, 2023.