Posted on 01/17/20
| News Source: WSJ
Three suspected white supremacists arrested in Maryland and Delaware this week had discussed opening fire from different positions at Monday’s planned pro-gun rally in Richmond, Va., in the hopes of causing chaos, law-enforcement officials said.
Authorities also confirmed they arrested three other men in Georgia this week who are allegedly linked to the same violent, white-supremacist group, called “the Base,” as the men who were heading to Virginia. The Georgia men were arrested on Wednesday for plotting to murder a Georgia couple, the Floyd County, Ga., police department said Friday.
The group’s activities include recruiting members online, meeting to discuss strategy and practicing at a paramilitary training camp on a 100-acre tract in Silver Creek, Ga., county police said. Silver Creek is an unincorporated part of the county northwest of Atlanta.
The FBI said it assisted local law enforcement on the Georgia arrests. Law-enforcement agencies have been tracking the group, which aims to “accelerate the downfall of the U.S. government, incite a race war and establish a white ethno-state,” according to an affidavit associated with the Georgia arrests, and filed in a local court.
Gun-rights advocates have rallied in Richmond on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, also known as Lobby Day, for nearly two decades. They are planning for an especially large crowd on Monday in response to Democrats’ plans to pass a slate of gun-control bills. Democrats took over both chambers of Virginia’s legislature in a November election and have moved quickly to advance legislation, including measures the Senate approved Thursday to expand background checks and limit people to one handgun purchase a month.
Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency and temporarily banned firearms from the grounds near the state Capitol in Richmond, citing law-enforcement concerns about violence during Monday’s rally.
Gun-rights groups sued on Thursday a Richmond court, claiming state law prohibited the Democratic governor from using the emergency declaration to enact the gun ban. Hours later, a judge upheld the governor’s order, prompting the gun-rights groups to petition the state Supreme Court.
“These threats are real—as evidenced by reports of neo-Nazis arrested this morning after discussing plans to head to Richmond with firearms,” the governor said Thursday.
Citing worries about violence, a local branch of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence said it cancelled its own gathering at the Virginia statehouse, which had been planned for later Monday.
“We are an organization that strives to promote public health and safety, and we cannot in good faith lead our supporters—some of whom are children and teenagers—into a violent, dangerous situation,” said Lori Haas, the coalition’s Virginia director. “We refuse to engage with those who seek to physically harm us.” Read more at WSJ
Officials with Gun Owners of America, which is helping organize Monday’s pro-gun rally, said the vast majority of its members are law-abiding and that rallygoers should be able to carry guns in case extremists tried to cause mayhem.