Two white supremacists arrested in Michigan

DETROIT— Two members of a white supremacist group were arrested Thursday and accused of intimidating a Michigan family, authorities said.

Justen Watkins, 25, and Alfred Gorman, 35, 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 a group called 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.

The photos were uploaded onto The Base’s social media platform channel along with a caption that alluded to a person involved with an antifa podcast. Nessel’s office said the group was targeting that person, but that he had never lived at the home, which is about 83 kilometres west of Detroit.

Antifa is an umbrella description for far-left-leaning militant groups that resist white supremacists at demonstrations and other events.

“Using tactics of intimidation to incite fear and violence constitutes criminal behaviour,” Nessel said. “We cannot allow dangerous activities to reach their goal of inflicting violence and harm on the public.”

The arrests come after authorities this month alleged that members of two anti-government paramilitary groups plotted to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before the elections in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power.”