2 Arrested As Michigan AG Cracks Down On Extremist Groups

MICHIGAN — Michigan continued its crackdown on extremist groups in the state as multiple felony charges were filed Thursday against the self-proclaimed leaders of "The Base," a national white supremacist group the Attorney General's Office said has "violent inclinations."

Attorney General Dana Nessel's office said the arrests of Justen Watkins, 25, of Bad Axe, and Alfred Gorman, 35, of Taylor, took place following an investigation by Michigan State Police and the FBI.

“Using tactics of intimidation to incite fear and violence constitutes criminal behavior,” Nessel said. “We cannot allow dangerous activities to reach their goal of inflicting violence and harm on the public. I am proud to work alongside law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal levels to safeguard the public’s safety from these serious threats.”

The two men accused are linked to a December 2019 incident in Dexter, in which a family was terrorized at their home after the men used intimidation tactics on the premises and posted messages to other The Base members targeting the home, according to a news release.

Both Watkins and Gorman are charged with gang membership, unlawful posting of a message and using computers to commit a crime. The most severe of the felonies, gang membership, is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The charges were filed Thursday in Washtenaw County 14A-3 District Court, Nessel said.

Ryan Jarvi, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General's Office, said the two people arrested Thursday did not play a role in the plot by another extremist group, the Wolverine Watchmen, which planned to kidnap and potentially kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Arrest warrants were executed at 6 a.m. Thursday at the homes of the two men, according to Nessel. Watkins and Gorman were both taken into custody and are to be lodged at the Washtenaw County Jail. Their arraignment is pending.

Around 11:30 p.m. Dec. 11, 2019, the victims reportedly witnessed Watkins and Gorman dressed in dark clothing shining a light and taking pictures on the front porch of the family’s home, Nessel's office said. The photos were then uploaded to The Base’s channel on the social media platform Telegram with the caption: “The Base sends greetings to Daniel Harper of the Antifa podcast ‘I Don’t Speak German,’” Nessel's office said.

Through their actions, Watkins and Gorman intended to threaten and intimidate Harper, whom they mistakenly believed to reside at the victims’ home, the AG's office said.

However, Harper never lived at that address, according to authorities. Watkins and Gorman’s posting of the message was intended to cause conduct that would make the residents feel terrorized and emotionally distressed, Nessel's office said.

Founded in 2018, The Base is a white supremacy organization that openly advocates for violence and criminal acts against the U.S., and purports to be training for a race war to establish white ethnonationalist rule in areas of the U.S., including Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, according to a news release. The group also traffics in Nazi ideology and extreme anti-Semitism, at one point requiring its members to read neo-Nazi books that urge the collapse of Western civilization, the AG's office said.

The Base leaders have used online chat rooms to encourage members to meet in person and engage in military training to prepare for the insurgency against the U.S. government, according to the AG's office.

Watkins claims to have been appointed leader of The Base, and reportedly ran a “hate camp” for members of the group, where he led tactical and firearms training for participants with the goal of being prepared for the violent overthrow of the government, according to authorities. The photo of the Dexter home was used by The Base to encourage harassment by its members on the family, Nessel's office said.