Prosecutors said alleged white supremacists who were arrested last week on a number of charges had expressed hope that violence at this week’s pro-gun rally at Virginia’s Capitol would start a civil war, said federal prosecutors in a court filing.
The hidden camera captured Mathews saying the Virginia rally was a “boundless” opportunity, adding, “And the thing is you’ve got tons of guys who ... should be radicalized enough to know that all you gotta do is start making things go wrong and if Virginia can spiral out to [expletive] full-blown civil war.”
The rally hosted at least 22,000 people and was described as peaceful. One woman was arrested by police for not removing her mask. Ahead of the rally, Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, declared a state of emergency ban on guns at the Capitol, citing a threat from a militia group. That was before the FBI arrested Mathews and two other suspected members of The Base.
But prosecutors stated Mathews and fellow alleged Base member Brian Mark Lemley Jr., 33, talked about plotting violence at the Richmond demonstration. Lemley said he wanted to ambush civilians and police officers, said officials, according to the AP.
“We could essentially like be literally hunting people,” Mathews said, according to prosecutors. “You could provide overwatch while I get close to do what needs to be done to certain things.” Lemley also allegedly said, “I want to claim my first victim.”
The group was communicating in person and via encrypted communications, said prosecutors.
Last Friday, the Justice Department charged a Wisconsin man in a separate case of being a Base member, alleging he spray-painted swastikas and anti-Semitic statements at a synagogue in Racine last fall.
