Members of the white supremacist group “The Base” pleaded guilty Tuesday to training for a racial war and “openly advocating for violence and criminal acts against the US.”
Justen Watkins, Alfred Gorman, Thomas Denton, and Tristan Webb had either entered guilty or no contest pleas to the charges of conspiring to train for a civil disorder.
“Securing these convictions on the conspiracy to train for civil disorder hold significance for many reasons,” Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
“They reiterate this office’s commitment to protecting Michigan residents, they create a historic precedent in our state’s court system, and they convey the real danger domestic terrorism poses here and around the country.”
The Base group is a “fundamentally anti-Semitic” gang that embraces Nazi ideology and its membership is limited to candidates of European descent.
The Attorney General’s Office said that Watkins was the leader of the group and ran a “hate camp” where he provided tactical and firearms training in the bid to prepare members for a “violent overthrow of the government.”
