In a significant move towards addressing the rising wave of hate crimes, the leaders of the white supremacist, Matthew Robert Allison, and Dallas Erin Humber, have recently been charged for allegedly plotting assassinations and terrorist attacks. This marks a crucial step towards holding those responsible for spreading hatred and inciting violence accountable for their actions.
The charges against Allison and Humber are not merely based on their affiliation with a white nationalist platform but on their alleged role in plotting assassinations and attacks. The platform they controlled on Telegram nurtured a breeding ground for hate and violence. The authorities have found evidence linking their online activities to real-life violent incidents, making this a landmark case in the fight against hatred and extremism.
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According to the indictment, Allison and Humber were leaders in the Terrorgram Collective, a network of channels that are part of the Telegram Messenger communication platform that promotes white nationalism. The two suspects took over the Terrorgram in summer 2022 after the previous leader was arrested and charged with terrorism offenses, the indictment says.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants used the platform to publish a list of people they wanted their followers to kill because of those individuals’ race, religion, gender identity or national origin. The list included the names, addresses and photographs of the targets and told followers that assassinating people in the name of Terrorgram would be their path to sainthood, according to authorities.
Among the people on the list was an “Anti-White, Anti-gun, Jewish Senator,” according to the indictment. A federal judge who was called “an invader” on the list was targeted because of a ruling on an immigration issue. A federal U.S. attorney, who was called a racial slur on the platform, was also targeted.
Prosecutors said followers inspired by Terrorgram carried out deadly attacks outside of the United States.
According to authorities, in October 2022, a 19-year-old from Slovakia killed two people at an LGBT bar and then killed himself. The attacker’s manifesto thanked Terrogram for inspiring him. The Slovakian, authorities said, had contact with Allison and Humber in the year leading up to the attack, and about three months before the killings Humber told the attacker in a group chat that she would narrate the attacker’s books if the person murdered people in the name of Terrorgram.
In August, a teenager from Turkey live-streamed himself stabbing five people outside a mosque after he had posted on Terrorgram that morning to “Come see how much humans I can cleanse.”
Allison and Humber also encouraged followers to attack American infrastructure to “ignite a race war and help accelerate the collapse of government and society,” according to the indictment.
In July, according to the indictment, an 18-year-old in the United States who was active in Terrorgram chats was arrested and accused of plotting an attack on an energy facility in New Jersey. Humber allegedly posted in a Terrorgram group chat later that the person arrested “was 100% our guy.”
“These are not mere words,” Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for national security, said on a call with reporters Monday announcing the unsealing of the indictment. “Terrorgram users have carried out, or planned, attacks after being guided by Terrorgram publications and instructional videos.”
The indictment states that some followers inquired on the platform whether the leaders had any attacks they wanted carried out in certain locations. The leaders also allegedly shared instructional manuals and videos on how to create bombs, chemical weapons and weapons of mass destructions.
Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told reporters that the online platform helped the defendants reach more people as they promoted white nationalism, and that the indictment is the department’s response to “the new technological face of White supremacist violence.”
“Technology evolves, and we keep up,” Clarke said.
The charges brought against Matthew Robert Allison and Dallas Erin Humber should serve as a wake-up call for society. It is high time we acknowledge the dangers of extremist ideologies and actively work towards preventing hate crimes.
In the face of rising hate crimes, we must collectively stand against those who seek to divide and harm our communities. The charges against Allison and Humber are an important milestone, but our work to eradicate extremism and discrimination is far from over.
