White supremacist indicted after allegedly organizing gay bar shooting that killed 2 people

Matthew Allison, a 37-year-old man from Boise, Idaho, was indicted in a federal lawsuit that accuses him of being a part of a transnational terrorist plot to kill lawmakers and commit hate crimes.

Allison is allegedly the leader of the Terrorgram Collective, a white supremacist group that planned terrorist attacks against Black, Jewish, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities.

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“Today’s arrests are a warning that committing hate-fueled crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and soliciting terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you. The United States Department of Justice will find you, and we will hold you accountable,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

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The attacks were planned by Allison and a California man named Dallas Humber on the app Telegram. Telegram is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app that has become a hotspot for criminal activity. It’s popular among the American right and in Eastern Europe.

Humber and Allison allegedly helped organize a shooting that killed two people outside a gay bar in Slovakia, planned an attack on a New Jersey energy facility, and encouraged a man who stabbed five people in a mosque near Turkey.

They both face 15 felony counts, including conspiracy, soliciting hate crimes, sending bomb-making instructions, and providing material to support terrorists. 

“The defendants encouraged murders and hate crimes targeting individuals based on their race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert for the Eastern District of California. “They also exposed personal information and called for the assassination of federal officials, conspired to offer material support to terrorists, and disseminated information about explosives with the intent to facilitate acts of violence.”

Humber and Allison also distributed multiple Terrorgram videos and publications that offer detailed instructions for committing crimes, glorify white supremacist attacks, and feature a hit list of “high-value targets” for assassination. This list included U.S. federal, state, and local officials, as well as leaders of private companies and non-governmental organizations, many of whom were targeted based on their race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity, says the US Department of Justice.

If convicted of all charges, Humber and Allison each face a maximum penalty of 220 years in prison. 

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