A jury convicted three members of the Kansas militia Wednesday of plotting to bomb a mosque and an apartment complex that housed Somali refugees.
The court convicted Curtis Allen, Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright — all members of Kansas Security Force — of one count of conspiracy against civil rights and one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. Wright was convicted of a further count of lying to FBI authorities, according to The Associated Press. FBI authorities apprehended the men in a 2016 sting operation after fellow militia member Dan Day agreed to aid the FBI as a paid informant and wear a wire when he heard some alarming threats from Allen, Stein and Wright.
“The defendants in this case acted with clear premeditation in an attempt to kill people on the basis of their religion and national origin,” U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said of the guilty verdicts according to AP. “That’s not just illegal — it’s immoral and unacceptable, and we’re not going to stand for it.”
The three members of Kansas Security Force formed a splinter group and referred to themselves as “The Crusaders,” authorities said. The group planned to attack an apartment complex known to house about 120 Somali residents — one apartment was used as a mosque.
Source: The dailycaller
