Two big stories to process story this week on just how crazed Trump supporters have become in 2020, as first in Michigan, multiple armed domestic "militia" members were charged by the FBI on Wednesday in a plot to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and overthrow the state's government.
Federal agents said Thursday they thwarted a plot to violently overthrow the government and kidnap and harm Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — a conspiracy that included visits to her home in northern Michigan and training with firearms and explosive devices.
The alleged plots involved six conspirators unhappy in part about Whitmer's coronavirus restrictions, calling her a "tyrant." They wanted to create a "self-sufficient" society free from unconstitutional state governments and discussed plans to storm the Capitol and take hostages, according to FBI documents filed in court.
Organizers allegedly met starting in June, including at a Second Amendment rally in Lansing and in a Grand Rapids shop basement accessed through a secret door hidden under a rug.
The plot also included at least seven members of a Michigan militia known as the Wolverine Watchmen accused by state officials on Thursday of targeting police, making threats to "instigate civil war" and helping to plan Whitmer's kidnapping, according to state and federal officials.
The federal court filing alleges the conspirators twice conducted surveillance at Whitmer's personal vacation home in northern Michigan and discussed kidnapping her to a "secure location" in Wisconsin to stand "trial" for treason prior to the Nov. 3 election.
"Several members talked about murdering 'tyrants' or 'taking' a sitting governor," an FBI agent wrote in the affidavit. "The group decided they needed to increase their numbers and encouraged each other to talk to their neighbors and spread their message."
After the charges were revealed, Whitmer slammed President Donald Trump for failing to condemn in strong enough terms hate groups, such as the far-right Proud Boys, whom he told to "stand back and stand by" during the debate last week.
"Hate groups heard the president's words not as a rebuke, but as a rallying cry, a call to action," the Democratic governor said.
Gov. Whitmer is correct.
More than once, Donald Trump tweeted to "LIBERATE MICHIGAN".
The white supremacist domestic terrorists who follow him tried to do exactly that.
But the second story is far worse, frankly. Actual neo-Nazis, a domestic terrorist movement called The Base, have been recruiting law enforcement and military to start a white supremacist "race war". The Guardian's Jason Wilson reveals the monster behind The Base: a former US military contractor named Rinaldo Nazzaro.
The Guardian has learned the true identity of the leader and founder of the US-based neo-Nazi terror network the Base, which was recently the target of raids by the FBI after an investigation into domestic terrorism uncovered their plans to start a race war.
Members of the group stand accused of federal hate crimes, murder plots and firearms offenses, and have harbored international fugitives in recent months.
The Base’s leader previously operated under the aliases “Norman Spear” and “Roman Wolf”. Members of the network do not know his true identity due to the group’s culture of internal secrecy.
But the Guardian can reveal that “Norman Spear” is in fact US-born Rinaldo Nazzaro, 46, who has a long history of advertising his services as an intelligence, military and security contractor. He has claimed, under his alias, to have served in Russia and Afghanistan.
The revelation of his identity comes after a months-long investigation by the Guardian into Nazzaro and the activities of the Base.
While Nazzaro’s most recently used address is in New Jersey, there is evidence supporting his claims of being based in Russia, where he lives with his Russian wife.
The Base – which is an approximate English translation of “al-Qaida” – began recruiting in late 2018. The white supremacy group, which has regional and international cells, extols the virtues of an all-out race war while specifically targeting African Americans and Jewish people.
Using encrypted apps, members of the highly organized group planned terror campaigns; vandalized synagogues; established armed training camps and recruited new members.
The US attorney for Maryland, Robert K Hur, speaking after the recent arrest of three members of the Base, said that they “did more than talk – they took steps to act and act violently on their racist views”.
These guys are bad news and they will be with us for a long time. In a Biden administration, expect these guys to be a real threat.
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