Two members of white supremacist group The Base are charged with terrorizing Michigan family after they mistakenly believed their home belonged to host of anti-fascist podcast
The self-proclaimed leader of the white supremacist group The Base has been arrested alongside an associate this morning on suspicion of intimidating and harassing a Michigan family in a case of mistaken identity.
Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, were charged with gang membership, unlawful posting of a message and using computers to commit a crime, according to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's office.
The charges followed an investigation by Michigan State Police and the FBI into The Base and a December 2019 incident in which a family in Dexter saw men in dark clothing shining a light and taking photos on the front porch of their home.
Authorities in Michigan have arrested Justen Watkins, the self-proclaimed leader of the white supremacist militant group The Base, after they say he posed for this picture outside the home of a Dexter, Michigan, couple last December
The photos, including one depicting a person in a skeleton mask, were uploaded onto The Base's social media platform channel along with a caption that alluded to Daniel Harper, the host of the influential anti-fascist podcast I Don't Speak German, according to authorities.
Nessel's office said the group was targeting Harper, but that he had never lived at the home in Dexter, which Rich and Dawn Shea had moved into in August 2019.
'Using tactics of intimidation to incite fear and violence constitutes criminal behavior,' Nessel said. 'We cannot allow dangerous activities to reach their goal of inflicting violence and harm on the public.'
An affidavit says The Base was targeting Antifa podcaster Daniel Harper , who had never lived at the home in Dexter
The arrests come after authorities earlier this month alleged that members of two anti-government paramilitary groups - the Michigan III%ers and the Wolverine Watchmen - took part in plotting to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before the November 3 presidential election in reaction to what they viewed as her 'uncontrolled power.'
Some were charged under federal law and others under state law. Some of the Wolverine Watchmen are accused of planning and training for other violent crimes, including storming the Michigan Capitol building.
Whitmer has placed some blame on President Donald Trump, noting that he did not condemn white supremacists in the first presidential debate with Democrat Joe Biden and instead told the far-right group Proud Boys to 'stand back and stand by.'
The FBI has described The Base as a collective of hardcore neo-Nazis operating as a paramilitary organization
'Hate groups heard the president´s words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry, as a call to action,' Whitmer said at the time.
According to an affidavit in support of complaint, at around 11.30pm on December 11, 2019, Richard and Dawn Shea and their baby wire inside their home in Dexter when the couple saw two men, later identified as Watkins and Gorman, walking outside, flashing lights at their house and taking pictures on their front porch.
The Base: A militant neo-Nazi group that focuses on self-defense and preparing for imminent chaos
The Base is a small militant neo-Nazi organization that emerged in 2018 and is primarily active in the United States.
Group members portray themselves as vigilante soldiers defending the 'European race' against a broken 'system' that has been infected by Jewish values.
The Base embraces Hitlerian ideology coupled with a mission to prepare for an impending race war.
The group espouses nihilistic and accelerationist rhetoric— an ideology embraced by white supremacists who have determined that a societal collapse is both imminent and necessary, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The Base organizes in the virtual space, but their on the ground presence has increased to include alleged criminal activity.
Source: Anti-Defamation League
The Sheas called the police, but by the time officers arrived 30 minutes later, the intruders had left, reported The Informant.
According to the court documents, Watkins and Gorman took 'a menacing photograph on the Sheas' property and uploaded it to The Base's channel on the social media platform Telegram, which they dubbed the Terrorgram.
In the photo, a man said to be Watkins is wearing a black skull mask, camouflage pns and a tactical plate carrier with rifle magazines featuring a patch of the logo for The Base. The caption reads: 'The Base sends greetings to Daniel Harper of the Antifa podcast "I Don't Speak German."'
After realizing that he had made a mistake, Watkins told an associate that the 'message got across even with the wrong house too.'
According to the affidavit, Watkins took the reins of The Base in November 2019, after the group's founder, Rinaldo Nazarro, was identified by The Guardian, and reportedly ran a hate camp that included tactical and firearms training, Nessel's office said.
Not long after the incident in Dexter targeting the Sheas, Watkins shared a manifesto on social media, which stated: 'I will train with firearms, explosives, knives, Ryder trucks, and anything else I have to destroy this KIKE SYSTEM THAT IS GENOCIDING MY people," Watkins allegedly wrote in early 2020, in what the affidavit describes as a manifesto posted to Telegram. That manifesto allegedly ended: "To victory with PURE UNADULTERATED ARYANVIOLENCE! HAIL TERROGRAM!'
Watkins and Gorman were being held Thursday in the Washtenaw County Jail pending arraignment.
Speaking to The Daily Beast, Harper said the arrests did not come as a surprise.
'Given the flurry of federal activity around the Base and various related groups between mid-2019 and spring 2020, I assumed that there was either an ongoing investigation or that they had hit a dead end,' he said.
The Anti-Defamation League says The Base is a small, militant neo-Nazi organization that was formed in 2018 and in which members portray themselves as vigilante soldiers defending the "European race." The group is preparing for an impending race war, according to the ADL.
The arrests come after authorities earlier this month alleged that members of two anti-government paramilitary groups took part in plotting to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
A screen capture from a video posted to the group's chatroom shows members conducting drills at a recent 'hate camp'
Three men linked to The Base were arrested in January on federal felony charges in Maryland and Delaware - days before they were believed to be headed to a pro-gun rally in Richmond, Virginia.
The group's leaders have used online chat rooms to encourage members to meet in person and engage in military training to prepare for an insurgency against the U.S. government, Nessel's office said.