The leaders of a notorious transnational terrorist group, known as the Terrorgram Collective, have been indicted on multiple charges, including soliciting hate crimes, targeting federal officials for murder, and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. According to a press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, Dallas Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho were apprehended on Friday and face a 15-count indictment relating to their leadership roles within the hate-driven organization.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland highlighted that these arrests send a clear message, stating, "Today’s arrests are a warning that committing hate-fueled crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and soliciting terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you. The United States Department of Justice will find you, and we will hold you accountable," a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California. The indictment outlines the extent to which the Terrorgram Collective, operating on Telegram, embraced and promoted white supremacist accelerationism, an extremist belief system advocating for the acceleration of societal collapse to bring forth a white ethnostate, through violence and chaos.
The Justice Department's announcement details the eclectic nature of the group's activities, ranging from producing and sharing materials on bomb-making to doxing federal officials, it also includes a litany of charges against the defendants. In a statement obtained by the Justice Department, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert noted that Humber and Allison "also doxed and solicited the murder of federal officials, conspired to provide material support to terrorists, and distributed information about explosives that they intended to be used in committing crimes of violence. My office will continue to work tirelessly with our partners in law enforcement and in the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute those who commit such violations of federal criminal law. I would like to thank the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and National Security Division for their partnership in support of the common mission to keep our people and public officials safe from hate-fueled crimes of violence," as reported by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The FBI has been instrumental in the investigation, with Director Christopher Wray stressing, "Whether motivated by racial bias or antagonism toward government and societal norms, such behavior will not be tolerated. Terrorism is still the FBI’s number one priority, and working with our partners we are committed to investigating and holding accountable those who break the laws and assist violent actors in lethal plots." With these arrests, the message has been reaffirmed that the U.S. will not tolerate hate crimes or terrorist endeavors against its infrastructure or officials, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
The indictment alleges that the Terrorgram Collective targeted people and institutions based on race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, and gender identity. It also connects the group to various violent incidents worldwide, where their ideology inspired hate crimes and terror attacks. If found guilty, Humber and Allison could each face up to 220 years in prison, with the final sentence decided by a federal judge based on sentencing guidelines and legal factors.
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