Justen Watkins sentenced to 32 months to 4 years. The self-proclaimed leader of the white supremacist group “The Base,” who apparently ran a “hate camp” in Michigan for members to prepare to violently overthrow the government, has been sentenced to prison. Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, was taken into custody around 6 a.m. Oct. 29, 2020, when Michigan State Police troopers and FBI agents executed an arrest warrant at his homes, according to authorities. Watkins claims to have been appointed leader of The Base and apparently ran a “hate camp” for members of the group, including tactical and firearms training to prepare for the violent overthrow of the government, police said. Officials said The Base openly advocates for violence and criminal acts against the U.S. and purports to be training for a race war. At one point, the group required members to read neo-Nazi books urging the collapse of Western civilization, authorities said. “The Base” is the literal translation of “Al-Qaeda” in English. Dexter family terrorized Around 11:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2019, Watkins and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, dressed in dark clothing and shined a light and took pictures on the front porch of a family’s home in Dexter, according to police. They uploaded the photos to “The Base” channel on the Telegram social media platform with the caption, “The Base sends greetings to Daniel Harper of the Antifa podcast ‘I Don’t Speak German,’” authorities said. (…) Watkins was sentenced to 32 months to four years for conspiring to train for a civil disorder and a mandatory consecutive two years for felony firearm. It was the first time someone has faced a felony charge of conspiring to train for a civil disorder in Michigan history.
via clickondetroit: Leader of ‘The Base’ white supremacist group who ran ‘hate camp’ in Michigan sentenced