The leader of a national white supremacist group that advocates for violence against the government has been resentenced for terrorizing a Dexter family, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s Office. Justen Watkins “used intimidation tactics at a family’s home and posted messages to other The Base members targeting the home,” according to a press release from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office. Nessel said in 2020 that Watkins and Alfred Gorman terrorized a Dexter family, sharing their home address with The Base members and trying to intimidate the couple. He was sentenced Monday to 56 months to 20 years in prison for being a member of a gang. Two other charges — using a computer to commit a crime and unlawfully posting a message online — were dismissed as a part of a plea deal. This corrected an invalid prison term Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge Patrick Conlin Jr. imposed in July. His original sentence, 56 months to 72 months, violated the law because maximum sentence ranges must be the same as the charge’s maximum penalty under law, said Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Nessel’s office. (…) Assistant Attorney General Sunita Doddamani said in 2020 Watkins ran a “hate camp” for members of The Base so they could prepare to overthrow the government. FBI agents seized 15 guns from the Bad Axe property where the camp was held and found extremist propaganda in the home. Watkins had written a manifesto calling for genocide and had “expressed a desire to die for the cause … and take as many people with him,” Doddamani said in 2020.
via detroitnews: White supremacist group leader sentenced for terrorizing Dexter family, AG’s office says