Prosecutor: Californian woman accused of leading a group of white racists, planned terrorist attacks on the Internet

SACRAMENTO, California. – A woman from California was arrested on suspicion of being a co-leader of a terrorist group that focuses on inciting and planning hate crimes in the United States and around the world.

On Monday, the Justice Department announced that 34-year-old Dallas Humber of Elk Grove, Sacramento County, along with 37-year-old Matthew Allison of Boise, Idaho, were arrested last week and charged with 15 counts.

In a press release, federal prosecutors said the defendants led a transnational online terror group called the Terrorgram Collective, whose intent was to radicalize, recruit and inspire followers to commit hate crimes and deadly attacks.

The two are accused of using the digital messaging platform Telegram to spread what prosecutors called their “abhorrent” ideology of white racial superiority.

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The defendants also tried to persuade members of the group to act in the belief that terrorist attacks on government infrastructure would trigger a race war and hasten the collapse of the government, prosecutors said.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the group was “aimed at attacking America's critical infrastructure, targeting a hit list of our nation's public officials, and committing deadly hate crimes – all in the name of the violent ideology of white supremacy.”

Prosecutors linked Humber and Allison to a shooting outside an LGBT bar in Slovakia that left two people dead.

The defendants were also suspected of having influence on other violent incidents, including the stabbing attack of five people near a mosque in Turkey and a plan to attack energy facilities in New Jersey.

Prosecutors said Humber and Allison spread hate speech calling on their members to attack people deemed enemies of the white race. They are also accused of publishing instructional videos and manuals on how to build bombs, chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

According to the 37-page indictment unsealed Monday, Humber posted on various days: “WE NEED TERROR SHOWS, ARROW, BOMBING, DEAD TARGETS, NOT THREATENED PLANS. STOP TALKING, START KILLING.” The post was captioned with swastikas.

The Justice Department reiterated its commitment to taking down shadowy terrorist groups motivated by bigotry and hatred.

“Committing hate crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and calling for terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you,” Garland said. “The U.S. Department of Justice will find you, and we will hold you accountable.”

Humber and Allison are accused of, among other things, inciting hate crimes, inciting the murder of federal officials, publishing private, identifying information about federal officials and distributing instructions for making bombs.

If convicted on all counts, the defendants could each face a maximum sentence of 220 years in prison.

This story was published in Oakland, CaliforniaF.