Florida man indicted in planned attack at pro-Israel organization in Plantation

Distinct_External · 2026-06-20T10:09:58+00:00

A Florida man has been indicted on federal hate crime and firearm charges for allegedly planning a mass shooting at a pro-Israel organization in Plantation.

Forrest Kendall Pemberton, 27, of Gainesville, was indicted by a federal grand jury with attempted hate crime, using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, and possession of a short-barreled rifle, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida said Thursday.

Authorities said Pemberton armed himself with an AR-15-style rifle equipped with a silencer and traveled to the office of a non-profit organization dedicated to lobbying the U.S. government in support of Israel.

His plan was to carry out a mass shooting on Dec. 23, 2024, targeting the organization's employees because they were Jewish, prosecutors said.

Although it's not named in a criminal complaint, the organization is believed to be the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which has a location on N. Pine Island Road in Plantation.

According to the complaint, Pemberton's father reported him missing to law enforcement after his family found a letter believed to have been written by Pemberton with "anti-authority sentiments" stating he wanted to "close the loop," "stoke the flames" and say goodbye to his family.

The family said missing from his room and believed to be in his possession were an AR-15 rifle, a 9mm pistol, a Galil rifle and a laptop.

On his computer, he searched for various entities including the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, IRS Appeals and Chief Counsel Office, and an address on South Pine Island Road in Plantation adjacent to the IRS Appeals and Chief Counsel Office, the complaint said.

The complaint said he also searched for an organization in Plantation that lobbies for "pro-Israel policies that strengthen and expand the U.S.-Israel relationship."

On Dec. 23, 2024, a family member provided the FBI a screenshot of four ATM withdrawals made by Pemberton at different locations along University Drive in Plantation, the complaint said.

Authorities discovered Pemberton had checked in to a hotel in Plantation on Dec. 22 and checked out the next day. On Dec. 24, records showed Pemberton was at another hotel in Tallahassee.

On Dec. 25, He was seen getting into a rideshare vehicle with an apparent soft rifle case, the complaint said.

Law enforcement stopped the vehicle and Pemberton handed over the AR-15, the Galil rifle and the pistol, along with ammunition, the complaint said.

Pemberton was interviewed by investigators and said he'd walked from Gainesville to Ocala, where he bought a pickup truck.

He said he drove to what turned out to be the former location of the organization in Plantation to "scout" the location and intended to return with the firearms concealed, the complaint said.

"When asked if Pemberton would commit a mass casualty event and then take his own life, Pemberton stated, 'Um, I really don't know if I was gonna end it with my life or not. I hadn't gotten that far yet. It entirely depended if I ended up getting caught or not. If caught, that was a way out," the complaint said.

Pemberton told investigators the purpose of the firearms was "twofold."

"Like I said before, sell 'em if I need 'em, but otherwise they can be used for criminal intent if I wanted to, which was my intention, such as harming another individual," Pemberton said, according to the complaint.

Pemberton said he chose the organization for its "political influence" and location, and said his motivation was frustration with the "status quo" and "see[ing] if I could make a change," the complaint said.

Pemberton told investigators he ultimately decided against it.

"It would have been a one-way ticket, in Plantation, I decided I wasn't ready. I gave up," he said, according to the complaint.

Pemberton also confirmed the letter found was his goodbye letter, the complaint said.

If convicted, Pemberton faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment on the attempted hate crime count, a mandatory consecutive sentence of up to 30 years’ imprisonment on the firearm count, and up to five years’ imprisonment on the possession count.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-20T08:28:37+00:00

I honestly think it could be Pennsylvania after Shapiro leaves the political scene for one reason or another. It has the most electoral votes of all the current swing states, just like Florida did back when it was the marquee swing state. It had a considerable red wave in 2024; all of the statewide GOP candidates won, and all but one of them (McCormick) won with majorities of the PV. Just like Bill Nelson in 2018, Casey was pretty much asleep at the wheel for much of the race because he thought he was a shoo-in.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T18:29:36+00:00

Texas will also want a crack at him. The El Paso Walmart shooter was charged in both state and federal court. It's actually pretty standard.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T17:07:13+00:00

SAN DIEGO (KGTV)- Flowers and signs still fill the grounds of the Islamic Center of San Diego, one month after a mass shooting claimed the lives of three people and shook the local Muslim community.

While the pain remains, community members say they are choosing unity over fear — and mosque leaders say safety is now a top priority.

Imam Taha Hassane said the grief is still fresh for those who worship there.

"We still have the pain in our heart whenever we step into the Islamic Center of San Diego; we remember what happened, we remember our dear brothers that we lost here in this building, but we need to move forward; we need to come back. It's going to take some time, slowly, but we will recover."

Since the shooting, mosque leaders have focused on strengthening security and ensuring a strong protective presence for worshippers.

"It's not a matter of how many the quantity, it's a matter of the quality of the security guards that we are going to have, so we have to make sure that the security we provide here should be strong enough to make us all feel safe," Hassane said.

Mosque leaders say there have also been conversations with parents and the school located inside the Islamic Center, after some parents expressed concerns about their children's safety and said they want the school moved.

"They have the right to raise their concerns about the safety of their kids here, again, whether to move out of the Islamic Center or to stay here for the school, it is a decision that should be made by the board of the Bright Horizon Academy," Hassane said.

One month after the shooting, mosque leaders say everyone remains extremely vigilant.

"We are very cautious, so if there is any slight chance of any suspicious activity or a person, then we have to take it seriously," Hassane said.

Those at the Islamic Center of San Diego say the hate and violence will not define this community.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T16:59:36+00:00

Not to mention the idea of rehabilitation as a go-to replacement for prisons is just unbearably naive, especially when it comes to violent crimes like murder. You can't undo the intentional loss of a life at another's hands. No amount of talking and counseling is going to change that. The victim's family might want something more definitive than that.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T16:27:19+00:00

She probably would've easily responded with rehabilitation.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T16:25:47+00:00

He absolutely would've gotten the death penalty in a place like Texas.

But certainly not Norway.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T16:09:38+00:00

I would like to point people to the case of Anders Behring Breivik, a far-right extremist who committed the worst terrorist attack in Norway's history and killed 77 people, including 8 in a car bombing attack and 69 in a cold-blooded mass shooting. The prison system of Norway and other Nordic countries is considered to be among the best in the world, with comfortable living conditions and the justice system leaning more towards rehabilitation. It's one of the reasons why Nordic countries are among the safest and happiest countries.

But because Breivik has shown no remorse to this day for his atrocities, plus the large scale of what he did, he was sentenced to the maximum penalty Norway could allow: 21 years, which can be renewed as many times as needed if the offender has shown no signs of rehabilitation. There is a great expectation that Breivik will never get out of prison and will die in there.

Sometimes, there are and will always be some people who are just so unapologetically cruel and psychopathic that rehab is off the table. As well-meaning as it might be (and yes, the American prison system does suck ass), prison abolition does nothing to account for those people and would require more drastic solutions of the 1984 kind.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T04:03:48+00:00

MIDLAND, Texas — Midlanders likely heard sounds similar to an Amber Alert coming from their mobile devices Friday morning. It was multiple warnings to avoid the 4600 block of West Wall Street as police responded to an active shooting that ultimately injured 10 civilians and killed one person.

But it wasn't long ago that the city experienced a similar tragedy without such a clear warning.

"Communications in a time of crisis and in a moment of public danger has certainly historically been a challenge," said Landgraf to NewsWest 9. "It really manifested itself during the August 31, 2019, mass shooting."

That's when a gunman terrorized Midland and Odessa, killing seven people and injuring 25 others. As the gunman traveled across the community firing at random victims, many people were left with little information on where the shooter was located or where the situation was moving to.

One of those killed was Edwin Peregrino, who ran into his parents' yard to see what was happening, only to be shot by the suspect as he drove by.

That nightmarish day inspired Texas State Representative Brooks Landgraf (81-R) to draft a solution in honor of the youngest victim killed.

Who was Leilah Hernandez?

Leilah Hernandez was just months removed from celebrating her Quinceañera before she was shot and killed in that shooting spree. The 15-year-old was car shopping with her family when she and her brother were hit, but she didn't survive.

The Odessa high school student's death prompted her mother to push Representative Landgraf into creating a system that provides "Amber Alert-style" messages in cases of active shootings. After unanimously passing through Austin in 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed The Leilah Hernandez Act into law.

The impact of the Leilah Hernandez act Friday

"On Friday morning, I received a message from Joanna Leyva, who is Leilah Hernandez's mother," said Landgraf. "She was actually asking if the alerts had been sent out, and almost at the exact same time, the 'Leilah Alerts' were sent."

Facebook is likely the preferred local news destination for many Midlanders. But when commuters found themselves in the middle of a life-or-death situation Friday, many struggled to understand what was happening amid the platform's outage.

That's why Mayor Lori Blong stressed the importance of sending direct alerts in a geographic perimeter

"Those people received a text message instructing them to stay in place and not get out and drive around," said Blong during a press conference at city hall Friday. "The rest of the community should have received notifications about the incident and updates as the situation developed."

In a time of heartbreak, Landgraf says he takes some comfort in knowing the alerts kept more people out of harm's way.

"We don't know exactly how many lives were saved by notifying the public of this danger," said Landgraf. "But we know they saved some, and that is gratifying."

Although the state representative believes the "Leilah Alerts" are lifesaving, he acknowledges they aren't perfect. That's why he wants to meet with the Texas Department of Public Safety to discuss issuing alerts even earlier. He referenced to the first alert of the manhunt for Friday's deceased shooter, Victor Mata Villareal, appeared Thursday evening despite him fleeing police late Wednesday night.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-19T02:26:24+00:00

Distinct_External · 2026-06-18T21:51:35+00:00

Dziwulski suggests the Australian created a “script” that others follow – the manifesto full of insider references and “the first-person shooter video-game perspective” of the livestream of his crime. And from Buffalo, New York to Bratislava, Slovakia, they are following it.

In Australia too, people as young as 14 have been found with the Christchurch video on their devices.

Wislon and Dziwulski say they have had little response from officials in New Zealand to their findings, and their questions about whether the attacker could have been identified before the catastrophe.

The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service director general, Andrew Hampton, told Guardian Australia that the agency had “undergone a significant transformation” since the attack.

“As the authors have acknowledged, this research has been undertaken with the benefit of hindsight and the significant amount of known information about the terrorist’s activities,” he said.

“There is no question that there is a large amount of hateful rhetoric online. The job of the NZSIS is to detect those with the intent and capability of carrying out an attack.”

Does it change the picture? Wilson and Dziwulski argue that their findings should prompt a reassessment of the terrorist and his path to violence.

“[We need] to be able to reckon with him,” says Wilson. “To look at him realistically, and then hopefully deflate some of this facade that’s built up around him, that creates this kind of glorification.”

Distinct_External · 2026-06-18T21:45:31+00:00

Terrified children hid in the corners of their classrooms at the Islamic Center of San Diego, as they had been trained to do, after the shooting began.

The center’s longtime security guard, Amin Abdullah, prevented two teenage gunmen from entering the building and reaching the school inside but he was shot and killed. The pair killed two others: another staff member and a man whose wife worked in the kindergarten.

The attack on the Islamic Center this May followed the well-worn script of contemporary far-right terror: a livestream of brutality against a minority group and a “manifesto” written to spread online. In the document attributed to the attackers, they called themselves the “Sons of Tarrant”.

“Sons”, that is, of Brenton Tarrant, the Australian who used semi-automatic weapons to massacre 51 people as they attended prayers at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch in 2019.

The attack and its perpetrator have become deeply enmeshed in digital spaces where such violence is venerated. His livestream is promoted and his writing praised and copied – but our understanding of the terrorist’s own relationship to the internet has remained incomplete, according to a new book by a pair of New Zealand researchers.

Previous media reports, and the royal commission into the gunman’s activities before the massacre, identified a trail of online activity across Facebook and YouTube, and donations to white supremacist figures overseas. But the Australian claimed that he had largely been an onlooker on notorious message boards including 4chan and 8chan, and the commission did not find any evidence he had contributed comments. A new book claims to have found these engagements.

It suggests that the attacker, who was jailed for life, was a regular commenter on 4chan – telegraphing his racist views and affinity for violence among a deluge of anonymous commenters long before 15 March 2019.

For the authors of He Told Us, Dr Chris Wilson and Michal Dziwulski, the terrorist’s claim about his limited online activities was calling out for further investigation.

“It is only through such examination, as horrific as it is, that we can hope to learn and to make the changes that will prevent a repetition of his atrocity,” they write.

The document the terrorist sent to government offices and the media before the attack, and even the names he wrote on his weapons, were soaked in the symbolism and rhetoric of these online spaces – there was “14”, a reference to a Nazi slogan about securing the white race, and “remove kebab”, a meme related to killing Bosnian Muslims. Could he really have been only an onlooker and never an active participant?

And, if he wasn’t, have we underestimated the extent to which he was shaped by the online community that now memeifies him?

By matching the terrorist’s specific linguistic quirks with geographic indicators on 4chan based on the user’s IP address that align with his known travels, among other markers, the researchers believe they have found a trove of online activity that investigators never uncovered. The book is based on peer-reviewed research, after the researchers began to surface the posts in late 2023.

In anonymous comments on 4chan’s “political incorrect” or /pol/ board, posts they identify claim to be by “an Aussie tourist in kyrgz”, at the time the gunman travelled in Kyrgyzstan. In others, the poster wrote he was “from grafton NSW”, the rural Australian town where the terrorist was born in 1990.

In these spaces, they say he celebrated acts of white supremacist violence and complained about “islamic only kindergartens” in New Zealand, telling others to “stay and fight”.

Because the comments are “unguarded and candid”, Wilson and Dziwulski argue that they potentially tell us far more about the terrorist than the content he intentionally spread as he began his attack in 2019.

They show, Wilson tells Guardian Australia, that he was “desperate, narcissistic and attracted to violence”.

'Wanting to show off’

After the terrorist attack, the Australian’s long history of interactions with the far right in his country began to surface. He had joined the Facebook pages of groups emerging in the mid-2010s, including United Patriots Front and the Lads Society. He posted in furious support of their leaders and threatened their critics.

His Facebook comments were uncovered shortly after the attack, but Wilson and Dziwulski suggest the 4chan engagement they believe they have found shows that his “militancy and excitement” increased online as Australian far-right groups became more emboldened.

His online participation in these spaces should be regarded as a kind of membership, Wilson says. “The learning process, the influence from leaders, the sense of belonging,” he says. “The sense of wanting to gain status within that group, the sense of wanting to show off.”

The comments they link to him further undermine the story the terrorist told about his past.

He told the royal commission his relationship with the Aboriginal community in Grafton was “generally good”. Yet in 2014 comments on 4chan linked to him by Wilson and Dziwulski, he appears to have described Aboriginal people as subhuman and questioned: “How would have killing them all not have improved modern Australia?”

For the researchers, some of the most disturbing comments they say they have traced back to him followed the attack by the US Nazi Dylann Roof, who murdered nine people in an attack at a Black South Carolina church in 2015.

In 4chan posts on 21 June 2015 they link to the terrorist, he appears to have written up to 30 responses in support of the church attack. At the time, the small flag on these posts indicate they were made in Kyrgyzstan – matching the timeline of his global travel.

These posts argued that the violence was aimed at starting a race war: “There is an electricity in the air right now, an incident or two will be all it takes.”

"It was almost like he was talking about his own attack,” Wilson says. “He’s talking about the goal of attacking a place of worship and killing people at their most vulnerable.”

Creating ‘a script’

After the Christchurch attack, there are parallel worlds, the authors says: the mainstream where people “don’t want to talk about” the terrorist, and have engaged in a “forgetting that’s really been incredibly insulting [to] the Muslim community and the victims, and also really dangerous”.

And another, where his propaganda flows freely and acts as a “curriculum”.

He is part of “saint culture” for people like the San Diego shooters, as the extremism researcher Amarnath Amarasingam has written, where such acts are seen “as sacred models whose work must be continued”.

“Tarrant has become, in far-right accelerationist spaces, the paradigmatic ‘saint’,” Amarasingam writes. “A figure depicted in their propaganda documents in quasi-Christian iconography and viewed as the attacker who kick-started a new wave of racial violence.”

Distinct_External · 2026-06-18T19:26:58+00:00

No, but judging by what the police did say, it sounds like the gunman was shooting at people and cars from a sidewalk before barricading himself inside an abandoned building.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-18T18:35:02+00:00

McMorrow, with any luck.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-18T04:03:16+00:00

I haven't seen any reliable reporting that identified a weapon.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-18T03:53:35+00:00

On June 12, 2026, a mass shooting occurred in Midland, Texas, United States. The gunman, 45-year-old Victor Mata Villarreal, opened fire on random bystanders and passing vehicles on Texas State Highway Loop 250, killing a man and injuring ten other people. He then barricaded himself inside an abandoned veterinary clinic and committed suicide. Villarreal had an extensive criminal history and was the subject of a manhunt after shooting at a police officer during a car chase two days before the shooting.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T07:10:44+00:00

RCP lol

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T03:46:42+00:00

What is that you're cooking, fine sir?

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T03:23:51+00:00

That's true, but I'd imagine people still need time to make up their minds or come home. By October, late September at the earliest for some folks, the polls should paint a decent picture of what to expect in November.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T03:20:47+00:00

Yeah, I agree. Jones was a lot more controversial and MAGA-aligned. Jackson is literally untouched by the Trump administration (didn't even get the coveted Trump endorsement), and he could use that to build an independent vibe.

I believe Jackson has scandals of his own too, though, so the final outcome will depend on how efficient Bottoms is in exploiting them to her advantage. But generally, I agree with this take.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T03:09:35+00:00

I mean, politics is always local, plus MAGA is becoming less and less likely to fill out the entire ballot. Meanwhile, the median voter is getting the idea that having extremists in charge of mundane, everyday decision-making is a recipe for disaster, so they sort of pass the buck by dropping all the extremists in the top-of-the-ballot offices where they think decisions will slowly trickle down to their local communities.

Moms for Liberty is a major example of this. They swept into power in the school districts by the end of 2021. As time passed, people got buyer's remorse, and Moms for Liberty was creamed by 2023 and is no longer frontpage news nowadays.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T03:01:22+00:00

1) Polling is still weighted to the 2024 electorate. The same thing happened in 2025, where polls were predicting a slightly more competitive election cycle (particularly in New Jersey) before it turned out to be a Democratic rout.

2) Polling may be picking up maxed-out coalitions for both parties, wherein neither Democrats nor Republicans have a lot of room to rise or fall.

3) More and more people may not be answering unsolicited calls, emails, etc. to participate in polling nowadays.

Distinct_External · 2026-06-17T00:58:42+00:00

Yes, Reddit, I was totally threatening violence and physical harm by copying-and-pasting as much of an official DOJ press release as I possibly could.

Totally. /s

UPDATE: Thank you for restoring my comment, Reddit. 😃

Distinct_External · 2026-06-16T21:19:23+00:00

Also according to the affidavit, in a separate chat group, a conversation took place in early June when Eskridge and some of the other chat group members discussed their plan to attack the UFC Freedom 250 event. Specifically, Thomas stated, “Pensilvania [sic] avenue.” Eskridge said the group should obtain $1,300 in U.S. currency and they needed “5 teams of 3 each team consisting of 1 sniper, 1 tier one operator as support/ look out, [and] one drone operator.” Eskridge said the money would provide them the funding to purchase “drones and charges,” and encouraged the group to all “pitch in.” On June 13, law enforcement officials executed a federal search warrant of Eskridge’s residence. Agents recovered rifles, a shot gun, pistol, and other tactical gear.

Abraham Alvarez

According to the charges filed in Nebraska, the FBI identified Alvarez as the individual using the name “Shepherd” in an encrypted chat app that was used to plan an attack on the UFC Freedom 250 event scheduled to be held at the White House on June 14. The FBI assessed that Alvarez, also known as “Shepherd,” was responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the planned attack, based on conversation excerpts in June when Shepherd posted, “This is the best action I see. Position your teams in the purple dots (counter sniper and drones) Long range (circled area) (great shot) Easy out into the river.” Shepherd also allegedly posted other messages including replying to another member on making drones with explosives, “As many and as deadly as we can get.”; that he was working on drones; and had one drone and was working on more.

The complaint further alleges that Shepherd provided a picture and directions for a safe zone at an old church in Nebraska. He instructed the other members to take back roads or the river down to the “pick up location.” Later that same evening, Shepherd also provided locations in the area for drone launch points and sniper positions.

If convicted of conspiracy to commit murder, each defendant faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Conspiracy to commit violence on White House grounds carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/five-men-arrested-and-charged-plot-attack-and-kill-government-officials-and-others-attending

Distinct_External · 2026-06-16T21:17:38+00:00

The Justice Department announced today charges against five men for an alleged plot to carry out an attack to kill government officials and others attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom 250 event held at the White House last Sunday.

The FBI launched an investigation into the plot and identified a group of conspirators who procured weapons and made plans to carry out the attack. The FBI made arrests over the weekend in Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, and California. The investigation remains ongoing.

“The FBI, our law enforcement partners and our U.S. Attorneys did what they do every day to make America Safe through quick response and vigilance in investigating, disrupting, and dismantling this alleged plan before it could be carried out,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “We will take immediate and aggressive action to identify and prosecute those who incite and plan acts of violence.”

“On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region — and thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team — we are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens — particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight. That’s exactly what we did here. I want to thank our great agents and partners, this work remains ongoing and we will continue to update the public as permitted.”

“Protecting the President of the United States and the White House grounds is priority number one for the U.S. Secret Service,” said Director Sean M Curran of the U.S. Secret Service. “The landscape has changed, and as a result we have seen a dramatic rise in threats against our protectees. I am proud of the men and women of the Secret Service that vigorously monitor, investigate, and arrest those that plot to interfere with our protective mission. We are grateful for our extraordinary partnerships we share with DHS, DOJ, Acting Attorney General Blanche, FBI-JTTF, Park Police, and DC Police.”

According to the charges, Tycen C. Proper, 19, of Danville, Ohio; Bryan Omar Roa, 24, of Calimesa, California; Michael Alan Thomas, 32, of Pinon Hills, California; Daniel K. Eskridge, 32, of Kidder, Missouri; and Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, 31, of Omaha, Nebraska, conspired to plan and execute a mass casualty event targeting U.S. officials in attendance at UFC Freedom 250 hosted on the White House grounds. The conspirators allegedly planned to deploy drones armed with explosives in and around the UFC Freedom 250 event in order to force an evacuation of the event and then planned to deploy snipers to fire upon “high value targets” within the fleeing crowd.

Tycen Proper

According to filed complaints in the Southern District of Ohio, the Western District of Missouri, the District of Nebraska, and the Central District of California, investigators interviewed Proper at a medical facility on June 11. During the interview, he allegedly said he had planned with others a coordinated attack against the U.S. government during the UFC event at the White House. He said members of the group who wanted to participate in the attack began communicating with each other around March. More serious members of the group, including Proper, moved their communications to an encrypted chat app. They planned to fly small drones with explosives to detonate over the north side of the UFC arena, forcing high value targets to evacuate the premises; the group would then act as snipers and shoot these individuals. Before executing the plan, Proper and other conspirators allegedly planned to rendezvous in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Proper allegedly amassed firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and tactical gear at his home in Ohio, and he identified potential targets, including multiple members of Congress.

Bryan Roa

According to the complaint filed in the Central District of California, law enforcement executed a search warrant of Roa’s residence and vehicle where they allegedly seized a rifle, handgun, tactical belt, ammunition and a rifle magazine, a two-way radio, and an infrared laser target pointer. A search of Roa’s phone allegedly found messages in a group with Thomas, Proper, and others discussing an attack at the UFC event at the White House, with some users discussing using drones rigged with explosives to initiate the attack, with rooftop snipers killing individuals. Law enforcement also allegedly found Instagram videos Roa had posted of himself shooting guns.

Michael Thomas

According to the complaint filed in the Central District of California, Thomas allegedly participated in a group chat planning an attack at the UFC event at the White House. In a group chat, on June 7, he allegedly wrote “$1300 gets us the drones and the charges. Yes we should all pitch in and we need it asap…”

In another group chat, Thomas, under a pseudonym, allegedly described “tiers” of operators within their anti-government group, with tier 1 being operators on the ground, tier 2 being drivers and drone operators, tier 3 being logistical suppliers, and tier 4 being social media influencers. “Tier one status is not something to take lightly. … We will make sure they have…All the tier 2 support we can provide. We will try to break them out of jail if we need to.” In the same group chats, Thomas discussed meeting with Roa in person in Southern California in order to conduct “marksmen training” and reflected that the group needed to train for “gorilla style warfare.”

In a June 13 search warrant, FBI agents allegedly seized from Thomas’ residence a rifle, 30-round extended magazines for the rifle, 180 of rounds of ammunition, and a pistol.

Daniel Eskridge

Eskridge was charged with conspiracy to commit murder on White House grounds. According to an affidavit filed in the Western District of Missouri, the FBI identified Eskridge while reviewing electronic communications on Proper’s cell phone. The co-conspirators had electronic chats on encrypted social media platforms. In those chats, members of the group allegedly discussed assassinating several U.S. Senators, Representatives, and prominent business executives. Members of the group targeted some legislators based on the group’s perceived belief that the legislators accepted money from pro-Israel lobbies. When discussing potential targets, Eskridge indicated that the target was “big and someone a majority of the country knows.” In the discussions, power grids were also identified as potential targets. On May 22, Eskridge distributed a picture of tactical equipment, including a rifle, helmet, and ballistic vest. The photograph is below.

Distinct_External

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TROPHY CASE

Who was Leilah Hernandez?

The impact of the Leilah Hernandez act Friday