FBI arrests 3 suspected neo-Nazis who planned to bring weapons to a pro-gun rally
Missing Canadian soldier and accused neo-Nazi recruiter Patrik Mathews. Image by Roseau County Sheriff
(JTA) — The FBI has arrested three men alleged to be members of a neo-Nazi hate group who had planned to travel with firearms to a pro-gun rally in Richmond, Virginia.
The rally is scheduled for the Martin Luther King Day holiday on Monday to protest gun control measures proposed by the state legislature and its new Democratic majority.
Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency this week over credible violent threats from out-of-state militia groups and hate groups reminiscent of the 2017 Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Northam has also temporarily banned weapons from the state Capitol grounds through Jan. 20.
One of the men arrested, Patrik Mathews, is a former reservist in the Canadian Army who was dismissed after his ties to white supremacists became known, The New York Times reported. He was a main recruiter for The Base, a group working to foment anarchy and race war.
The others arrested are Brian Mark Lemley of Elkton, Maryland, and Newark, Delaware, and William Garfield Bilbrough IV of Denton, Maryland, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office, The Hill reported.
The post FBI arrests 3 suspected neo-Nazis who planned to bring weapons to a pro-gun rally in Virginia appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
