FBI Arrests Suspected White Supremacists Before Virginia Gun Rally

Federal authorities arrested three men allegedly linked to a violent white-supremacist group who had discussed traveling to a pro-gun rally Monday in Richmond, Va., and preparing for a possible race war, according to a law-enforcement official.

Two of the men, one a former Canadian Army reservist in the U.S. illegally, face charges including transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland. One was also charged with transporting a machine gun, and the third man was charged with transporting and harboring an illegal alien.

Online court records didn’t list attorneys for any of the men. They are scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon in federal court in Greenbelt, Md.

Virginia authorities are preparing for thousands of people to attend a pro-gun rally Monday at the state Capitol. On Wednesday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam temporarily banned firearms from the Capitol grounds, citing law-enforcement concerns about weaponized drones and armed militias.

Rally organizers are responding to gun-control bills Democratic lawmakers have aimed to pass since they won control after November elections over both chambers of the state Legislature. Several bills have cleared committees since lawmakers convened last week, including one to expand background checks for gun purchases and a red-flag measure to disarm people deemed dangerous.

The three men arrested Thursday are members of white supremacist group “the Base,” authorities said. Members in encrypted chat rooms have discussed topics like creating a “white entho-state,” ways to make improvised-explosive devices and violence against African-Americans and Jewish Americans, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent said in an affidavit filed in court.

White supremacist groups like the Base also discuss “accelerationism,” a concept that refers to a desire to speed up the collapse of modern society, according to the Anti-Defamation League…

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com