Trump is hyping his "wild" rally in DC today, & high-profile boosters like Lin Wood are preemptively accusing Pence of treason. Armed extremists see a green light to engage in political violence. My latest for
@RawStory
.
#ProudBoys
#DCProtests
#Jan6th
EXCLUSIVE: I’ve got a big story for you about a national network of neo-Nazi teenagers engaged in a multi-state campaign to terrorize Jews, Black people and LGBTQ+ folks.
Meet 2119, also known as Blood and Soil Crew.
@RawStory
/1
#Breaking
:
@RawStory
has obtained exclusive chats leaked by an infiltrator that show neo-Nazi accelerationists discussing an Atomwaffen offshoot called National Socialist Resistance Front as being tied to the Moore County power grid attack.
EXCLUSIVE: Police pulled over a carload of neo-Nazis following a protest against a drag show in Cookeville, TN, but let them go w/out charging a man w/ a pistol strapped to his hip who threw admitted to throwing a stink bomb at counter-protesters /1
EXCLUSIVE: Court docs reviewed by
@RawStory
show the government saying investigators found "what appeared to be classified material" on a hard drive owned by Marine Corps veteran Jordan Duncan, who was allegedly involved in a neo-Nazi terror plot. /1
#NEW
charge alleges a neo-Nazi terror cell organized out of Camp LeJeune planned to attack power grid to provide cover for assassination campaign
1 member stalked a BLM rally in Boise and feds found the names of BLM founders on a list in his possession
THREAD: The feds have taken note of Capitol rioter Jeffrey Grace's involvement in clashes w/ antifascists in Portland, OR this past weekend, & are requesting that his conditions of release be modified to prohibit "possession of firearms, weapons or destructive devices." /1
REVEALED:
@RawStory
has identified the Nazi wearing a shirt celebrating the Einsatzgruppen death squad outside a drag story hour in NC last month.
He's Jarrett Smith, who served a prison sentence for distributing bomb-making instructions online. /1
#New
: 2 members of the neo-Nazi terror network BSN accused of plotting an attack on the power grid & targeting BLM leadership have pleaded guilty.
Bonus revelation: Joseph Zacharek, a police officer in Lafayette, Ind., was involved in the network
SCOOP: Ye paid Nick Fuentes, the antisemitic leader of the Groypers, out of an account from his old presidential campaign.
2 payments of $9,026 & $5,693 are described as travel reimbursements, but the campaign apparently paid directly for airfare etc.
Let me clear: No amount of intimidation is going to make me stop reporting.
This is the biggest investigative project I’ve ever been involved in. I couldn’t have done it on my own. /20
CW: Sexual violence, white supremacy
@RawStory
has confirmed that Michael Jones, involved in J6 and active w/ Proud Boys & Patriot Front, recruited for the Base and was investigated earlier this year for sexual assault against a 17yo girl with autism. /1
UPDATE: 2 KKK members who confronted a LGBTQ protest w/ guns on 6/3 have not been charged.
As Corbin PD, commonwealth attorney, FBI & DOJ sit on their hands, extremist threats are mounting against a human rights march planned for Corbin, KY this weekend.
BREAKING: Sean Kauffmann, the neo-Nazi who leads Tennessee Active Club, faces charges of aggravated assault and child abuse
Kauffman repeatedly punched his partner in the head as she held their infant child, and threatened to kill her, per arrest report.
It culminated with six neo-Nazis staging a flash rally outside my home earlier this month while holding emergency flares and giving sieg heils, and warning about a “consequence” for exercising my 1A freedom of press. /19
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked chats reveal that White Lives Matter organizer & founder of new American Union Fascist is a member of Virginia Army National Guard
#NaziWatch
Blood and Soil Crew first came across my radar while combing Terrorgram channels where users celebrated the electrical substation attack in Moore County, NC.
At the time, harassment of drag shows by an array of far-right actors was mounting. /2
Big thanks go out to
@RawStory
for unflagging support and to
@davelevinthal
for his heroic editing job.
And thanks to
@appalachresclub
for key findings that helped put the puzzle together. /21
Aaron Alligood, a 2119 member from Georgia who bragged about his involvement in the group on Terrorgram, said the FBI seized his electronic devices after his friend Brian Tierney was arrested for his part in a white supremacist bank robbery conspiracy. /3
EXCLUSIVE: William Beals was identified as a
#J6Insider
by
@SeditionHunters
in January 2022. Seven months earlier, the TVA flagged him for "unauthorized access to the US Capitol" & banned him from its facilities. Yet the
@FBI
still has not arrested him. /1
Recruiting children through skateboarding and Roblox is essential to 2119’s strategy for spreading hate.
“They are reaching an untapped market for of white children that could potentially change their worldview and get them into the movement just form some fun on Roblox.” /8
REVEALED: Army reservist Christopher Woodall, formerly a jail guard in Greensboro, ran a "white nationalist" paramilitary training camp in North Carolina while touting KKK ties & stan-ing the Russian military.
@RawStory
#exclusive
Duncan has been jailed since October 2020 on a host of charges in which the government alleges that he and 4 codefendants conspired "to attack the power grid" to provide cover for an assassination campaign against BLM founders and Democratic pols. /2
Another 2119 member, Aiden Cuevas, was arrested as a juvenile for terroristic threatening. He wound up serving a sentence at Mt. Meig’s campus, a juvenile facility in Alabama. /4
The driver of the vehicle, Sean Kauffmann, is a notorious white supremacist who has promoted mass shootings, advocated for rape & communicated w/ convicted terrorist Jarrett William Smith (H/T
@gwensnyderPHL
). But the lead officer concluded that Kauffmann didn't want violence. /2
Noah Houran, now 17, was interviewed by the FBI at his high school about online posts featuring a burning LGBTQ+ pride flag, mention of attending a rally and firearms. /5
Sharing this Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of students ending the occupation of Willard Straight Hall at Cornell University in 1969, as a reminder that building occupations are a time-honored tradition of student protest.
A fourth 2119 member, whom I have not identified, disclosed on Telegram that he was charged by the FBI as a juvenile and served a federal prison sentence. /6
The approach taken by the officers in Cookeville and Chattanooga highlights a broader pattern of law enforcement across the country repeatedly missing the warning signs about extremist violence, from the Unite the Right to Jan. 6, and now attacks against the LGBTQ community. /6
Led by a national cadre that includes Cuevas, 2119 members document their crimes & incorporate the footage into propaganda videos, which are then used to indoctrinate and recruit even younger teenagers on Telegram. /7
#Exclusive
: 1/ Audio obtained by
@RawStory
captures a social media strategist who mobilized Trump supporters to go to DC on Jan. 6 signaling he was aware of plans by militia groups during a conference call a week before the siege of the Capitol.
Four 2119 members were arrested last summer for a string of hate crimes in Pensacola, FL.
Members, including leader Waylon Fowler, are accused of smashing windows at TWO synagogues with bricks inscribed with swastikas, not to mention attacks against a mosque & Masonic lodge. /10
While 2119 is led by teenagers, the members have received mentorship from older Nazis in groups such as Southern Sons Active Club, Tennessee Active Club and Clockwork Crew, along with Brian Tierney, the aforementioned failed bank robber. /9
@RethinkIntel
told me: “Law enforcement is unprepared, despite public statements that they’re planning to commit violence. And too often, they don’t follow up after the violence occurs, which tends to condition the militants to believe they’re allowed to commit violence." /7
Two men are under arrest by Graham, NC police for assaulting Megan Squire and Tony Crider, two Elon University professors who were attempting to film them. Confederate monument supporters are yelling at antiracists to go home.
More to come on this, but here’s the first in a series about how a handful of organizers loosely tied to Mike Flynn and motivated by 7 Mountains dominionist ideology mobilized Trump supporters for Jan. 6 under the hashtag
#1LoudVoice
@RawStory
The hate crime spree by 2119 members capped an 18-month harassment campaign against the Party of Socialism & Liberation. No charges have been issued for the vandalism of PSL’s community center. /11
I first wrote about this case in 2021. And although this particular plot was foiled, I think it's probably the best model for understanding the attacks on the power grid that were carried out in
#MooreCounty
.
#Accelerationism
#NeoNaziTerror
/1
You might think felony hate crimes charges would cause 2119 members to put their illegal activities on hold. You would be wrong.
Following the arrest of the Pensacola members, the group adopted the hate-inscribed brick as their totem of action. /12
While the officer who initiated the stop learned from dispatch that the occupants of the vehicle were part of a "terroristic group," he was apparently unaware that they were neo-Nazis or members of a group called Tennessee Active Club. /3
When I started investigating 2119, the members turned to a broader network of violent neo-Nazis for support.
Their efforts to intimidate me started with crude insults drenched in antisemitism and homophobia on Telegram. /17
And despite one officer expressing suspicion that one of the passengers was seeking to provoke counter-protesters so he could justify firing his weapon, a sergeant on the scene advised against charging because it "would just hostile them and make them want to retaliate." /4
It escalated to harassing and threatening phone calls, a hoax pizza delivery and surveillance of my home.
A 2119 member (Bair) threatened me while speaking with me during an interview. /18
Mathew Bair, also a rogue Proud Boys member and 2119 member who is 34, openly embraces Terrorgram. He unapologetically shared a video showing a flier that said, “Shoot your local judge,” while posting a photo of his 4yo son posing w/ a swastika. /15
The 2119 members rely on secrecy to carry out their campaign of harassment and intimidation against Jews, African Americans and LGBTQ+ people.
They use the same tactics to try to discourage journalists from exposing their illegal and hateful activities. /16
They distribute terror manuals like the writings of Ted Kaczynski, Turner Diaries (a blueprint for race war), and Terrorgram documents that extol racially motivated mass shootings and industrial sabotage. /14
Attacks in 2119’s name followed in Laconia, NH targeting Jews (not once but twice), and in Concord, NC someone spray-painted “2119” on a Martin Luther King Jr. monument. /13
Police body-camera video from Cookeville and Chattanooga that was obtained by
@RawStory
in provides a glimpse into how police viewed and dealt with violent extremists in the six-month run-up to Tennessee's new anti-drag law going into effect on April 1. /5
The "Seattle whistleblower" was a legend among Trump loyalists after the 2020 election.
Thanks to her video deposition, we now know how crazy it was: Sabrina Keliikoa claims to have been "detained" by a security team linked to Michael Flynn.
@rawstory
Actual self-identified fascists are pledging to bring guns, shields and knives to “White Lives Matter” rallies across the country on Sunday. Antifascists are fighting back by infiltrating local organizing channels & running plans into the ground
Black Lives Matter protesters say an older white couple pulled a gun and knife on them in the parking lot of Tony's Ice Cream last night in
#Gastonia
. Instead of charging the white couple, police took their statement and charged a BLM protester. Hence tonight's protest. 3/3
#New
video shows Cindy Chafian, who pulled permits for pro-Trump rallies & coordinated security through 1st Amendment Praetorian, at US Capitol on Jan. 6: "We're taking our house back."
@rawstory
. H/T
@BetoAngelMommas
But the contents on Duncan's hard drive have been described by an NCIS agent as a "library" of information on car bombs, chemical weapons, military manuals and folders labeled "propaganda." (Again, not clear what, if anything, in these materials might have been classified.) /4
Also think it's worth mentioning that BSN did a pretty good job of maintaining secrecy. I seriously doubt if the FBI would have discovered them had it not been for the anonymous antifascist researchers who released the Iron March data in November 2019.
The contract held by Duncan's employer to provide "integrated cyber capabilities across domains for US Cyber Command" coincided w/ his tenure from February 2019 through September 2020. Notably, one of roles of Cyber Command is to protect US elections from foreign interference. /7
#Exclusive
from
@RawStory
:
1. Here's the as-yet untold story of how Robert Caron of JTG MAGA connected the "ShadowGate" conspiracy theorists to journalist Lara Logan, and how they wound up in DC to assist in the effort to overturn the 2020 election.
To be clear, the government hasn’t described the contents of the materials that are alleged to be classified, or disclosed the outcome of a review dating back to January 2021 to determine whether there were violations of two federal laws related to classified materials. /3
Big story coming tomorrow in the a.m. at
@RawStory
. I've been working intensively over the past month, and I hope my reporting and writing is equal to the weight of the subject.
With all those caveats out of the way about what we don't know about the classified documents and where they came from, it's worth noting that Duncan was trained as a Russian linguist in the USMC, and later worked for a firm that landed a contract to support US Cyber Command. /6
EXCLUSIVE: The reopen movement in NC is increasingly aligning w/ the boogaloo & constitutionalist fringe on the far right, w/ the husband of Reopen NC cofounder Ashley Smith saying supporters must be "willing to kill people."
#Reopen
#boogaloo
SCOOP: Sedition hunters warn that with the statute of limitations set to expire on 1/6/26, the FBI needs to dramatically pick up the pace of arrests to ensure accountability for hundreds of the most violent J6 offenders H/T
@BetoAngelMommas
/1
2. "They knew Nov. 3 was going to happen, let alone Jan. 6. They were setting all these scams up. It sure seems like they were putting these things in place at least three months ahead of time to be able to prepare for Trump's loss." — Patrick Bergy, "ShadowGate" whistleblower
Following the FBI's arrest of Colorado resident Bradley Bunn for possessing pipe bombs, threats by his fellow boogaloo activists prompted a Homeland Security alert warning about the group "inciting followers to shoot through their doors at FBI agents" 1/5
A Black woman in Gastonia, NC was assaulted by a white man & falsely charged before police realized their error, leading to escalating racial tensions and militarized police response.
#Gastonia
#BlackLivesMatter
BREAKING: Frankie Rizzello, a 20-year-old neo-Nazi who networked with 2119 leader Aiden Cuevas, has been arrested for hate crimes in St. Louis. H/T
@ksdknews
and
@adl
Center on Extremism
It's also not clear where Duncan obtained the allegedly classified materials, but he served in the Marine Corps from 2013 to 2018, & worked for 2 different military contractors in 2019 & 2020. Another possibility floated by his lawyer is that the docs came from Wikileaks. /5
EXCLUSIVE from
@RawStory
: Biden's far-right enemies have been hitting him with the "Creepy Joe" slander for years based on an innocuous photo w/ Sen. Dodds' daughter. But the National Archives shielded Trump from a photo that is uncannily similar. /1
First in a three-part series from
@RawStory
:
Staci Burk was drawn into a conspiracy theory revolving around ballots and planes after the 2020 election. Her effort to get answers propelled her into the orbit of Michael Flynn & Sidney Powell.
Really proud today to a share a story I co-reported with colleague
@markalesia
that has been months in the making.
MAGA-land is awash in threats to target political enemies, taking cues from Trump's promise of "retribution." /1
#Exclusive
from
@RawStory
:
Brian Gamble, QAnon promoter & Michael Flynn associate, showed up early at the barricades outside the Capitol on
#Jan6th
. He & friend Tim Hart were on the front lines of the group that pushed through the first police line /1
Unbeknownst to me, researchers at
@KhalifaIhler
contributed to the stream of information that I received for this story. I'm grateful for their contribution!
#Exclusive
: A former NSA official who helped Michael Flynn challenge the '20 election got tangled up w/ a bizarre incident involving the 1AP security group stealing Staci Burk's phone.
Then a Trump WH lawyer called Burk to "button things up."
@RawStory
EXCLUSIVE from
@RawStory
:
Rod of Iron Ministries, a Moonies spinoff that incorporates the AR-15 into worship, mobilized support for the Jan. 6 insurrection as part of vibrant far-right network in NE Pennsylvania, alongside Frank Scavo & Teddy Daniels. /1
EXCLUSIVE: White House aide Garrett Ziegler liaised with a "cyber-patriots" team run by Giuliani associate Mike Trimarco at Westin hotel, & funneled info up to Trump through his boss, Peter Navarro, during the campaign to overturn the election.
@rawstory
I made a 3-hr trip to the federal courthouse in Wilmington, NC yesterday to obtain copies of government exhibits.
Govt Exhibit 5 is Google images of 3 apparent targets. There's a substation & a fuel terminal in Portland. Also, anyone know what "Menlo Park Rescue Site" is?
Hundreds of counter-protesters deflected Westboro Baptist Church's hate with a wall of rainbow umbrellas and a dance party in Greensboro and High Point, NC today.
#NEW
from
@RawStory
While Proud Boys & Oath Keepers grabbed headlines (& charges), a private security group called 1st Amendment Praetorian links major figures like Ret. Lt. Gen. Flynn to the rioters on the ground at the Capitol on 1/6.
Watch for them.
My coverage of yesterday's Proud Boys' march in Raleigh, NC for
@RawStory
: A tenuous coalition of violent nationalists, Christian-right extremists and conspiracy mongers are building for a reprise of the Millions for MAGA march in Washington next month.
Last week, a federal judge modified J6 defendant William Beals' conditions of release so he could drive a FedEx route.
Only one problem:
@FedEx
says he didn't get the job.
Wonder if prosecutors will have anything to say about this.
#TowerPup
He followed the Proud Boys to the US Capitol on 1/6, and then coordinated radio comms for Patriot Front's 12/4/21 flash rally in DC.
But it took a traffic stop in upstate NY in March to expose Michael Jones.
@RawStory
exclusive
#January6thInsurrection
The government's motion notes that during his initial interview w/ the FBI, Grace "denied membership with other organizations, including the Proud Boys," & then goes on to say "the investigation also revealed that Grace was an active member of the Proud Boys." /2
#Scoop
: Marjorie Taylor Greene paying $12,000 fine to FEC for illegally soliciting funds for a super PAC opposing Democratic candidates in the 2021 Georgia Senate runoff
@RawStory
#New
from me at
@RawStory
: An organizer of the Jericho March, a critical dress rehearsal for J6, was communicating with the Oath Keepers founder and someone in Donald Trump’s camp at the same time /1
FOLLOW UP: Eight months ago, I broke the story about how Army reservist Christopher Woodall organized a "white nationalist" paramilitary camp in NC.
Army HR Command is still investigating, amid DOD's faltering campaign to root out extremism
@RawStory
A Black man was killed in Greensboro, NC today when a white driver repeatedly drove over him with a truck, according to a neighbor who witnessed the incident. I am deeply sorry his family must go through this horrific loss.
2/ “There’s dates floating around for some of the people in the militia, okay?” Jason Sullivan said during the Dec. 30, 2020 conference call. “They will not allow Biden to go into the White House."
6. Robert Caron, the JTF MAGA spokesman, was in an out of DC from Nov. 2020 through Jan. 2021. His name was all over a doc called "Invincible Argument" that called on Trump to deploy the National Guard to disband Congress.
CW: Extreme police violence and racism:
Wilmington police Officer Kevin Piner said he looked forward to a civil war and planned to get a new assault rifle, adding, “We are just going to go out and start slaughtering them (expletive)” Blacks.