The onetime leader of the Base, a neo-Nazi domestic terror group, planned on a “fortified” all-white compound in Michigan. In the same state where an anti-government militia plotted to kidnap the governor, a separate group of neo-Nazi terrorists hatched their own plot: Establishing a white nationalist, heavily armed, and fortified “community” to launch the so-called race war. At the center of it all was Justen Watkins, 25, a former leader of the Base—the domestic terror group under the shadow of a persistent FBI crackdown—now awaiting trial in Michigan. Following a joint FBI and Michigan State Police investigation, Watkins was charged with gang membership for his association with the Base and using computers to commit a felony. (Part of those charges stem from a December 2019 incident, where Watkins allegedly attempted to intimidate and threaten the life of an antifascist activist.) According to secret chats obtained by VICE News between known accelerationist neo-Nazis, a subset of the far right that believes terrorism will hasten the collapse of the U.S. government, Watkins claimed he was going to be purchasing and occupying land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, not far from where he was eventually arrested. (…) Last October the FBI thwarted a shocking plan involving members of the anti-government militia “Wolverine Watchmen” to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Thirteen men were arrested for the plot, which had allegedly been in the works since at least the spring of 2020. The planned abduction of Whitmer came out of the anti-lockdown fervor in the state, where the Capitol in Lansing had become one of the early targets for armed-militia protesting mask-mandates and lockdowns in the country since the pandemic first began. Watkins came onto the radar of local media in June 2020, when he was spotted counter-protesting at a local Black Lives Matter rally in Bad Axe while carrying a rifle and wearing a skull mask along with others. Watkins, who is currently free on bond, tried attracting other members of the Base and parallel organizations to join the community project, saying they could easily find work in “snow removal/landscaping” in the area of the planned compound. Inside the same chatroom, known aliases of suspected members of Atomwaffen Division, a sister group to the Base connected to five murders in the U.S., were active. The chatroom was a place where members of different affiliations mingled and discussed the state of their violent movement. Watkins made it clear to all that he had already begun operating in the Upper Peninsula and wanted committed, militant neo-Nazis intent on paramilitary training for the so-called race war to join.
via vice: Neo-Nazi Terrorists Planned Fortified Compound in Michigan
siehe auch: Neo-Nazi Terrorists Planned To Build ‘Fortified’ All-White Community In Michigan. A group of neo-Nazi terrorists reportedly planned to build a ‘fortified’ all-white community in Michigan. This heavily armed community would have been built with the aim of launching the ‘race war’, as per a new report from VICE News. 25-year-old Justen Watkins, who is currently awaiting trial in Michigan, was reportedly right at the centre of this project. Watkins is the former leader of the Base, neo-Nazi terrorist group which openly advocates for violence. The Base has recently been the target of FBI raids, as per The Guardian, with members accused of plotting a race war. Watkins has reportedly now been charged with gang membership for his association with the Base and for using computers to commit a felony, following a joint investigation by the FBI and Michigan State Police. It’s understood that part of these charges stem from a December 2019 incident, where Watkins allegedly tried to intimidate and threaten an antifascist activist. Now secret chats obtained by VICE News reveal Watkins had claimed he was going to buy and occupy land in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the purpose of building a white supremacist community.