Dallas Humber of California and Matthew Allison of Idaho were charged with a 15-count indictment for alleged solicitation of hate crimes, solicitation of murder of federal officials, and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, the US Justice Department announced on Monday.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division noted that Humber and Allison had allegedly “solicit[ed] others to engage in hate crimes and terrorist attacks against Black, immigrant, LGBT, and Jewish people.”
Humber and Allison are both leaders of the ‘Terrorgram Collective,’ a transnational terrorist organization, the department published. The group operates on the social media platform Telegram, which has been the source of recent controversy as the boss of the company was placed under formal investigation in France in connection with the use of Telegram for crimes including fraud, money laundering, and sharing images of child sex abuse, announced the move in a message to his 12.2 million subscribers on the platform.
The channel reportedly pushed the ideology of white supremacist accelerationism - the belief that the white race is superior and that society can only be saved from corruption employing violence, terrorism, and a race war. The ultimate goal of those subscribed to this belief system, according to the department, is the dismantling of the current world’s governance and the introduction of a white ethnostate.
Humber and Allison were alleged to have solicited Terrorgram subscribers to commit attacks to help facilitate the establishment of a white ethnostate. The department charged part of that alleged solicitation saw instructions and guidance to commit attacks.
The department connected the Terrorgram channel to three international attacks, one which saw an individual kill two people in a shooting attack outside an LGBT club in Slovakia, another where an individual planned an attack on energy facilities in New Jersey and a third which saw an individual stab five people near a mosque in Turkey.
Humber and Allison were accused of providing a hit list of “high-value targets” for assassination, which included US federal, state, and local officials, as well as leaders of private companies and non-governmental organizations.
The indictment charges Humber and Allison with a total of 15 counts, including one count of conspiracy, four counts of soliciting hate crimes, three counts of soliciting the murder of federal officials, three counts of doxing federal officials, one count of threatening communications, two counts of distributing bombmaking instructions, and one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
If found guilty, the pair face up to 220 years imprisonment respectively.
Officials comment on the indictment
“We allege that the leaders of Terrorgram charged today are a threat to public safety and the rule of law,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “Using the Telegram platform, they advanced their heinous white supremacist ideology, solicited hate crimes, and provided guidance and instructions for terrorist attacks on critical infrastructure and assassinations of government officials. Today’s action reaffirms that the Department of Justice will not tolerate this alleged abhorrent conduct. It has no place in America or anywhere else. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify, apprehend, and hold accountable anyone who engages in such activity, no matter where they are located.”
“These defendants are alleged to be the leaders of Terrorgram Collective, a transnational terrorist group that our investigation found is responsible for soliciting hate crimes and the murder of government officials and providing support to terrorists,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Whether motivated by racial bias or antagonism toward government and societal norms, such behavior will not be tolerated. Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority, and working with our partners, we are committed to investigating and holding accountable those who break the laws and assist violent actors in lethal plots.”
Matthew G. Olsen of the National Security Division added, “As alleged, Humber and Allison, the leaders of Terrorgram, conspired to provide material support and solicited attacks on federal officials and critical government infrastructure, including federal buildings and energy facilities…”
“The defendants solicited murders and hate crimes based on the race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity of others,” said US Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “They also doxed and solicited the murder of federal officials, conspired to provide material support to terrorists, and distributed information about explosives that they intended to be used in committing crimes of violence. My office will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who commit such violations of federal criminal law…”