White supremacists accused of intimidating family

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

Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, 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, according to authorities.

Nessel’s office said the group was targeting that person, but that he had never lived at the home, which is about 52 miles west of Detroit.