William Luther Pierce was an American neo-Nazi and white supremacist who authored The Turner Diaries, a fictional novel that describes a violent race revolution in the United States that leads to a world war and the extermination of non-white races. The novel has become popular amongst white nationalists and required reading for some groups. The Turner Diaries and Pierce’s other writings inspired multiple violent crimes, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 1984 murder of Jewish radio host Alan Berg. Pierce died of cancer in 2002 but The Turner Diaries remains a popular and influential work among white nationalists.Christopher Reed, “William Pierce – The ‘theoretician’ of America’s extreme right and author of the book that was claimed to have inspired the Oklahoma City bombing,” Guardian (London), July 25, 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jul/25/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries1.

Pierce promoted the idea that only whites should live in the United States because “white people must have living space exclusive to ourselves if the white race is to survive.”David Cay Johnston, “William Pierce, 69, Neo-Nazi Leader, Dies,” New York Times, July 24, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/us/william-pierce-69-neo-nazi-leader-dies.html. He blamed the Jewish-controlled media for any negative reactions to his positions. After Pierce’s death, Kevin Strom, an editor with the National Vanguard publishing company Pierce created, told the New York Times that Pierce was motivated “by a love for his own people, a deep and profound understanding of the danger that people of European descent are in and by a vision of what we could be in the future.”David Cay Johnston, “William Pierce, 69, Neo-Nazi Leader, Dies,” New York Times, July 24, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/us/william-pierce-69-neo-nazi-leader-dies.html.

Pierce was educated as a physicist and taught the subject at universities in the 1960s. In 1965, Pierce joined George Lincoln Rockwell’s American Nazi Party (ANP). After Rockwell’s assassination in 1967, Pierce joined Youth for Wallace in support of segregationist George Wallace’s presidential campaign.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. In 1970, Pierce left the ANP and, along with Willis Carto, transitioned Youth for Wallace into the white supremacist youth organization National Youth Alliance. Pierce created National Alliance in 1974 after a falling out with Carto.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. National Alliance sought to encourage a violent white revolution that would create an all-white America through ethnic cleansing.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. In 1998, the Anti-Defamation League labeled National Alliance “the single most dangerous organized hate group in America.”Jo Thomas, “Behind a Book That Inspired McVeigh,” New York Times, June 9, 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/09/us/behind-a-book-that-inspired-mcveigh.html. By 2001, National Alliance’s membership had increased to more than 2,000.Jo Thomas, “Behind a Book That Inspired McVeigh,” New York Times, June 9, 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/09/us/behind-a-book-that-inspired-mcveigh.html.

Through National Alliance, Pierce published a newspaper called Attack! In this paper, Pierce began writing a serialized story about a future race war. In 1978, Pierce self-published the stories as The Turner Diaries under the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald. The book is a historical retelling of the fictional race war through the diary entries of protagonist Early Turner.Christopher Reed, “William Pierce – The ‘theoretician’ of America’s extreme right and author of the book that was claimed to have inspired the Oklahoma City bombing,” Guardian (London), July 25, 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jul/25/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries1. National Alliance labeled The Turner Diaries a “Handbook for White Victory.”“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. Former White Patriot Party leader Glenn Miller claimed he handed out some 800 free copies of the book during his tenure with the group. The leaders of The Order, a National Alliance spinoff group, reportedly kept at least 20 copies at their headquarters.Katheen Belew, Bring the War Home (Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2018), 110. The Turner Diaries has reportedly sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide and serves as a guide for white nationalists seeking to attack infrastructure in order to create a white nation-state within the United States.Katheen Belew, Bring the War Home (Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2018), 110-113.

In 1978, a group of National Alliance members formed the Cosmotheist Community Church around the pseudo-religion Cosmotheism, a derivative of Pantheism.“What is the National Alliance?” National Alliance, accessed January 4, 2018, https://natall.com/about/what-is-the-national-alliance/. According to Pierce, the church grew out of a weekly religious discussion group that began meeting in 1974. Cosmotheism dictates that man and God are part of the same whole and both are meant to achieve self-realization. According to Pierce, man is both an agent of and part of the creator. In 1984, the church bought a 360-acre site in West Virginia and set up a compound where it encouraged faithful to move.Bradford Hanson, “William Pierce’s Original Prospectus for the Cosmotheist Community,” National Vanguard, December 2, 2017, https://nationalvanguard.org/2017/12/william-pierces-original-prospectus-for-the-cosmotheist-community/.

In 1983, Pierce left his wife and twin sons and moved to Hillsboro, West Virginia. There, he created the National Vanguard Books publishing house and later Resistance Records, reportedly the largest publisher of hate records in the world. As of Pierce’s death in 2002, the companies reportedly sold $1 million worth of neo-Nazi books and CDs per year.Dennis Roddy, “Hate was in his blood but not in his genes,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 28, 2002, http://old.post-gazette.com/columnists/20020828roddy4.asp; David Cay Johnston, “William Pierce, 69, Neo-Nazi Leader, Dies,” New York Times, July 24, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/us/william-pierce-69-neo-nazi-leader-dies.html. From his compound in West Virginia, Pierce broadcast a radio show called American Dissident Voices. The show began on shortwave radio but several AM band stations reportedly picked it up.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. Recordings on the show remain available online.

In 1989, Pierce wrote Hunter, about a man who kills interracial couples in order to spark a race war. Hunter has reportedly sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.David Cay Johnston, “William Pierce, 69, Neo-Nazi Leader, Dies,” New York Times, July 24, 2002, https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/24/us/william-pierce-69-neo-nazi-leader-dies.html. Pierce dedicated the book to the novel’s inspiration, white supremacist serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin, who murdered at least seven people, blew up a synagogue, and famously shot pornographer Larry Flynt during a killing spree in the 1970s and ’80s. Franklin was executed in 2013.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce; “Joseph Franklin, white supremacist serial killer, executed,” BBC News, November 20, 2013, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-25016217.

The Turner Diaries has inspired numerous acts of violence and terrorism. It was reportedly a favorite book of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, who blew up the Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, killing 168 people. McVeigh reportedly sold The Turner Diaries at gun shows.Katheen Belew, Bring the War Home (Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2018), 110. Police found a copy of the book in his car after his arrest. The book describes a truck bomb blowing up the FBI headquarters, which prosecutors called a “blue print” for the Oklahoma City bombing.Christopher Reed, “William Pierce – The ‘theoretician’ of America’s extreme right and author of the book that was claimed to have inspired the Oklahoma City bombing,” Guardian (London), July 25, 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jul/25/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries1; Jo Thomas, “Behind a Book That Inspired McVeigh,” New York Times, June 9, 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/09/us/behind-a-book-that-inspired-mcveigh.html. Weeks before McVeigh’s execution in 2001, Pierce called the bomber “a man of principle” who was “willing to accept the consequences” of what he did.Jo Thomas, “Behind a Book That Inspired McVeigh,” New York Times, June 9, 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/09/us/behind-a-book-that-inspired-mcveigh.html.

In 1983, National Alliance Pacific Northwest leader Robert Mathews formed the splinter group The Order with other National Alliance members.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. The group called for a violent race revolution as described in The Turner Diaries. The Order named outspoken, Jewish Denver-based radio host Alan Berg as their first target. Mathews, Bruce Pierce, and two others shot Berg to death outside his Denver home on June 18, 1984.Andrea Dukakis, “Murder Of Colorado Radio Man Alan Berg Still Resonates 30 Years Later,” Colorado Public Radio, June 18, 2014, http://www.cpr.org/news/story/murder-colorado-radio-man-alan-berg-still-resonates-30-years-later. Pierce was allegedly carrying the book with him at the time of his arrest.Katheen Belew, Bring the War Home (Cambridge: Harvard University Press 2018), 110. According to Berg’s radio producer, The Order targeted him because he had derided “their ridiculous beliefs that the Jews were mud people and the spawn of Satan.”Howard Pankrantz, “Neo-Nazi who shot Denver radio host Alan Berg dies in federal prison in Pa.,” Denver Post, August 17, 2010, https://www.denverpost.com/2010/08/17/neo-nazi-who-shot-denver-radio-host-alan-berg-dies-in-federal-prison-in-pa/. Mathews died in a firefight with the FBI later that year while the other three were sentenced to prison. William Pierce reportedly praised Mathews for taking “us from name-calling to bloodletting.”“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce; Howard Pankrantz, “Neo-Nazi who shot Denver radio host Alan Berg dies in federal prison in Pa.,” Denver Post, August 17, 2010, https://www.denverpost.com/2010/08/17/neo-nazi-who-shot-denver-radio-host-alan-berg-dies-in-federal-prison-in-pa/. On June 7, 1998, white supremacists Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and John William King murdered black man James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. King reportedly declared, “We’re starting The Turner Diaries early.”“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce; “Closing arguments today in Texas dragging-death trial,” CNN, February 22, 1999, http://www.cnn.com/US/9902/22/dragging.death.03/.

Pierce died of cancer on July 23, 2002.Christopher Reed, “William Pierce – The ‘theoretician’ of America’s extreme right and author of the book that was claimed to have inspired the Oklahoma City bombing,” Guardian (London), July 25, 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/news/2002/jul/25/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries1. Shortly after Pierce’s death, National Alliance named Erich Gliebe as his successor. Without Pierce, however, the group fractured. By 2009, National Alliance reportedly had fewer than 100 members.“William Pierce,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed January 2, 2019, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/william-pierce. In 2013, Gliebe announced the group’s dissolution. In response, former members William White Williams and Kevin Alfred Strom reformed the National Alliance and rededicated it to Pierce’s philosophies.“What is the National Alliance?” National Alliance, accessed January 4, 2019, https://natall.com/about/what-is-the-national-alliance/. Pierce’s National Vanguard media company continues to publish books, radio programs, and other media, as well as republishing Pierce’s writings.National Vanguard homepage, accessed January 4, 2019, https://nationalvanguard.org/. The National Alliance is also constructing a library in Tennessee dedicated to Pierce.Kevin Alfred Strom and William White Williams, “Progress: The William Luther Pierce Memorial Library and Research Center,” National Vanguard, January 5, 2019, https://nationalvanguard.org/2019/01/progress-the-william-luther-pierce-memorial-library-and-research-center/.

James Mason is an American neo-Nazi author and acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Mason’s 1992 book Siege, an anthology of violent pro-Nazi and pro-Manson essays he wrote in the 1980s, has inspired a generation of neo-Nazis who have formed an online subculture devoted to the promotion of Mason, his writings, and Manson.Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group.

George Lincoln Rockwell founded the American Nazi Party (ANP) in 1959.“1967: ‘American Hitler’ shot dead,” BBC News, accessed December 19, 2018, http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/25/newsid_3031000/3031928.stm. Mason joined the ANP in the 1960s at the age of 14. Two years later, he dropped out of school to work at the ANP headquarters in Virginia.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml. In 1969, the National Socialist Liberation Front (NSLF) splintered off from the ANP, which had collapsed after Rockwell’s 1967 assassination. Mason joined the NSLF and embraced its calls for political terrorism.Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group. During this time, Mason also formed a relationship with cult leader and convicted murderer Charles Manson. In the 1970s, Mason formed the Universal Order movement with Manson, who designed the movement’s logo, a swastika imposed over scales of justice. Mason wrote of his admiration for Manson and praised him as “a great leader/philosopher.”Matt Lebovic, “Inside ‘Atomwaffen,’ where Blaze Bernstein’s alleged killer trained for race war,” Times of Israel, January 29, 2018, https://www.timesofisrael.com/inside-atomwaffen-where-blaze-bernsteins-alleged-killer-trained-for-race-war/; Adam Lusher, “Charles Manson: Neo-Nazis hail serial killer a visionary and try to resurrect fascist movement created on his orders,” Independent (London), November 20, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charles-manson-death-dead-serial-killer-neo-nazis-resurrect-fascist-movement-cult-family-universal-a8065781.html. Referring to Manson as “the highest authority,” Mason credited the cult leader with directly inspiring Mason to form the movement and creating the name Universal Order.Adam Lusher, “Charles Manson: Neo-Nazis hail serial killer a visionary and try to resurrect fascist movement created on his orders,” Independent (London), November 20, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charles-manson-death-dead-serial-killer-neo-nazis-resurrect-fascist-movement-cult-family-universal-a8065781.html.

Nonetheless, Mason remained involved with the NSLF. In 1980, he took over responsibility for writing and editing the NSLF’s monthly newsletter, “Siege.” Though the NSLF disbanded in 1982, Mason continued to publish “Siege” through 1986, promoting pro-Nazi and pro-Manson ideologies.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group. In 1992, Mason compiled the newsletters into an eponymous book.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml. The book promotes the creation of autonomous terror cells fighting a guerilla war against “the system” under the common banner of the White Liberation Front. Mason praises the Manson Family murders and Dan White—who murdered San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and gay rights leader Harvey Milk—as “direct action.”A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group; Adam Lusher, “Charles Manson: Neo-Nazis hail serial killer a visionary and try to resurrect fascist movement created on his orders,” Independent (London), November 20, 2017, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/charles-manson-death-dead-serial-killer-neo-nazis-resurrect-fascist-movement-cult-family-universal-a8065781.html. The second chapter of Siege focuses on violent revolution and political terrorism, while other chapters glorify Manson and Adolf Hitler.James Mason, Siege (2015: IronMarch.org), https://ia800604.us.archive.org/26/items/SiegeByJamesMason/Siege-by-James-Mason.pdf.

In 1994, Mason moved to Colorado where he was arrested and subsequently imprisoned on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor stemming from a relationship he had with a 14-year-old girl in Ohio. Mason was imprisoned for three years and then again shortly after his release for parole violations.“Guide to the James N. Mason Collection – Papers of James N. Mason,” Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas Libraries, accessed December 19, 2018, http://etext.ku.edu/view?docId=ksrlead/ksrl.kc.masonjames.xml; Jake Hanrahan, Twitter post, April 21, 2018, 7:40 p.m., https://twitter.com/jake_hanrahan/status/987838629627289600?lang=en; Jeffrey Kaplan ed., Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right (Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 2000), 193-199.

Mason’s writing garnered little attention and he remained out of the public eye after his incarceration. But in 2015, a group of users on the now-defunct fascist web forum IronMarch discovered Siege and began to promote it on the forum.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group,” ProPublica, January 26, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/california-murder-suspect-atomwaffen-division-extremist-hate-group. These members formed the Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a virulent neo-Nazi network suspected in multiple U.S. murders. AWD openly embraces Nazi and satanic imagery and rhetoric based on Mason’s Nazi beliefs and fealty to the late cult leader Charles Manson.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group,” ProPublica, January 26, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/california-murder-suspect-atomwaffen-division-extremist-hate-group; Kelly Weill, “Satanism Drama Is Tearing Apart the Murderous Neo-Nazi Group Atomwaffen,” Daily Beast, March 21, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/satanism-drama-is-tearing-apart-the-murderous-neo-nazi-group-atomwaffen; Sonneinkreig Division, Gab account, accessed August 16, 2018, https://gab.ai/skd; “Worldview,” Universal Order, accessed August 16, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/worldview/. In 2015, AWD members republished Mason’s book online.Jessica Schulberg and Luke O’Brien, “We Found The Neo-Nazi Twitter Account Tied To A Virginia Double Homicide,” Huffington Post, last updated January 5, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicholas-giampa-neo-nazi-teenager-murder-girlfriends-parents-virginia_us_5a4d0797e4b0b0e5a7aa4780. In July 2017, a group of IronMarch users claimed they had met with Mason, which led to their creation of a website for Mason’s writings called Universal Order at https://siegeculture.biz/. The group included a user nicknamed Rape, the pseudonym of AWD’s reported leader, John Cameron Denton.James Poulter, “The Obscure Neo-Nazi Forum Linked to a Wave of Terror,” Vice News, March 12, 2018, https://www.vice.com/en_au/article/437pkd/the-obscure-neo-nazi-forum-linked-to-a-wave-of-terror. Accused murderer and AWD member Sam Woodward also claimed to have met Mason. AWD chat logs revealed that members frequently praised Mason and posted his writings and picture.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group. Using Amazon’s self-publishing tool CreateSpace, AWD has republished Siege and published new Mason writings, which they sell through Amazon.Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html.

The Siege Culture/Universal Order website.

So-called Siege Culture has developed into an online subculture of its own based on the Universal Order website and social media dedicated to Mason’s writings. The Siege Culture/Universal Order website is dedicated to Mason and his Universal Order movement. It includes links to a version of Siege on the Internet Archive and hosts essays by Mason, his Siegecast podcast, and links to various other neo-Nazi content. Its library includes neo-Nazi and white supremacist literature such as Mein Kampf and The Turner Diaries by William Luther Pierce, as well as books on Satanism, the occult, and fantasy like The Lord of the Rings.Universal Order, accessed December 20, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/. The Worldview section of the site declares that the page is “something that James Mason attempted to put into form himself, but due to circumstance, he never implemented it. This changed in the year of 2017, when the Atomwaffen Division discovered and met James Mason,” which led to “a new course of action for SIEGE.”“Worldview,” Universal Order, accessed August 16, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/worldview/. The page administrators deny that Mason runs Universal Order, though he is cited as the author of blog posts and podcasts on the website.“Contact,” Universal Order, accessed August 16, 2018, http://siegeculture.biz/contact/.

The podcast section of Siege Culture/Universal Order, featuring podcasts by James Mason

The library section of Siege Culture/Universal Order, featuring images of Mason and Charles Manson, the Universal Order logo designed by Manson, and pro-Nazi, white supremacist, and fantasy literature.

In addition to the website, Mason’s followers have created Twitter, YouTube, and other social media accounts.SIEGE Culture Gab account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://gab.ai/SIEGECulture; SIEGE Culture Twitter account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://twitter.com/siegeculture_?lang%3Den; SIEGEWAVE YouTube account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3oRnYKTvOHg5hyFuC-RCWA; Read SIEGE YouTube account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdh4N2bPSIWn5Bbfyc8bIVQ. As of December 20, 2018, the Read Siege YouTube channel hosted 48 videos and has received more than 25,000 views since its creation in 2017.Read SIEGE YouTube account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdh4N2bPSIWn5Bbfyc8bIVQ. The SIEGE Culture Twitter account had 650 followers as of the same date.SIEGE Culture Twitter account, accessed December 20, 2018, https://twitter.com/siegeculture_?lang%3Den.

The Read SIEGE YouTube channel.

In line with Mason’s racist, violent ideology, AWD members have been linked to at least five U.S. murders since 2017. Among the most prominent was the January 2018 murder of gay, Jewish college student Blaze Bernstein, allegedly by AWD member Sam Woodward.A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “Inside Atomwaffen As It Celebrates a Member for Allegedly Killing a Gay Jewish College Student,” ProPublica, last updated August 3, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/atomwaffen-division-inside-white-hate-group; A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, and Jake Hanrahan, “California Murder Suspect Said to Have Trained With Extremist Hate Group,” ProPublica, January 26, 2018, https://www.propublica.org/article/california-murder-suspect-atomwaffen-division-extremist-hate-group. In December 2018, the FBI arrested Washington state white supremacist Dakota Reed after he made several posts on Twitter threatening violence against Jews and Muslims. Reed also posted about Siege.“Washington White Supremacist Arrested for Threatening Mass Killings of Jews and other Minorities,” Anti-Defamation League, December 17, 2018, https://www.adl.org/blog/washington-white-supremacist-arrested-for-threatening-mass-killings-of-jews-and-other. Suspected AWD member Nicholas Giampa, who allegedly killed his girlfriend’s parents in December 2017, praised Siege, Adolf Hitler, and anti-Semitic violence on Twitter.Jessica Schulberg and Luke O’Brien, “We Found The Neo-Nazi Twitter Account Tied To A Virginia Double Homicide,” Huffington Post, January 4, 2018, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nicholas-giampa-neo-nazi-teenager-murder-girlfriends-parents-virginia_us_5a4d0797e4b0b0e5a7aa4780.

Mason continues to author blog posts and host podcasts on the Universal Order website. AWD leader Denton claims he owns the distribution rights to Mason’s writings and that Mason “passed the torch to us.”Alexander Epp and Roman Höfner, “The Hate Network,” Der Spiegel, August 25, 2018, http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2018-35.html.

On February 26, 2020, federal authorities arrested Denton in Montgomery, Texas, for his alleged role in multiple swatting conspiracies. Swatting is a harassment tactic that involves misleading dispatchers with information on an imminent threat in a specific location, leading authorities to respond in full force, including a SWAT team response.“Two men arrested in Montgomery County linked to hate group with history of violence,” KHOU 11, February 26, 2020, https://www.khou.com/article/news/crime/hate-group-based-in-montgomery-county-has-history-of-violence/285-d08cc091-c237-4df3-9a43-5df9fbad91c1; “Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Arrested for Swatting Conspiracy,” U.S. Department of Justice, February 26, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-atomwaffen-division-leader-arrested-swatting-conspiracy. Four other AWD members were also arrested for sending anti-Semitic and racist threats to journalists.Tess Owen, “The FBI Just Arrested a Bunch of Neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Members,” Vice, February 26, 2020, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bvgy9a/the-fbi-just-arrested-a-bunch-of-neo-nazi-atomwaffen-members. On March 9, 2020, an alleged audio recording by Mason announced AWD would immediately disband due to increasing pressure from legal authorities. Mason further declared that anything found on the Internet in the future claiming to be from AWD was fake. Vice confirmed the authenticity of the message with multiple sources familiar with Mason’s voice.Ben Makuch, “Audio Recording Claims Neo-Nazi Terror Group Is Disbanding,” Vice, March 14, 2020, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qjdnam/audio-recording-claims-neo-nazi-terror-group-is-disbanding.

On June 25, 2021, Canada added Mason to its list of designated terrorist entities. Mason is only the second individual to be added to Canada’s list, after Canada designated Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in 2005. According to the Canadian government, Mason was designated for providing ideological and tactical instruction on how to operate a terrorist group to listed entities, i.e., Atomwaffen Division.“Government of Canada lists four new terrorist entities,” Public Safety Canada, June 25, 2021, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/news/2021/06/government-of-canada-lists-four-new-terrorist-entities.html; “Currently Listed Entities,” Public Safety Canada, accessed June 25, 2021, https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/ntnl-scrt/cntr-trrrsm/lstd-ntts/crrnt-lstd-ntts-en.aspx.

On July 25, 2020, a group of former AWD leaders announced the reorganization of AWD into the National Socialist Order (NSO). NSO leaders claimed they learned from the mistakes of AWD, pointing to a lack of ideological cohesion. The NSO leaders further claimed they had built the NSO with a new leadership dedicated to creating an “Aryan, National Socialist world by any means necessary.”“National Socialist Order Announcement!,” American Futurist, July 25, 2020. NSO announced itself on the newly created American Futurist website. The website’s language mirrors that previously found on the Siege Culture website, the now-defunct site administered by Iron March members that hosted Mason’s writings. The site’s administrators claim the site is not a reorganization of AWD or any other group. According to the site’s administrators, its purpose is to “spread the message and ideas of James Mason” and American Futurism,“About Us,” American Futurist, accessed January 6, 2021. which they define as “Fascism based on Anti-Tradition; or, to put it better, anti-modern Jew-influenced traditions.”Texas Pete, “Why Do We Call Ourselves American Futurists?,” American Futurist, May 18, 2020.

AWD seemingly reorganized on November 8, 2021, when a self-proclaimed group of former AWD members posted an announcement on the National Socialist/fascist website Das Paradies of an AWD revival to provide guidance to the broader fascist movement. The announcement called Mason’s March 2020 statement disbanding AWD “now officially defunct” and “nothing more than a bad memory.”“Atomwaffen Division Reactivation,” Das Paradies, November 8, 2021. The posting also emphasized AWD and NSO are separate organizations.“Atomwaffen Division Reactivation,” Das Paradies, November 8, 2021. A November 9 post on the American Futurist site condemned the new AWD and announced the American Futurist and Mason no longer supported Das Paradies. According to the post, Mason was furious about the new AWD. American Futurist editor-in-chief “Texas Pete” claimed the new AWD was run by a former member and an associate of AWD founder Brandon Russell, but Russell was not involved. American Futurist editors allegedly helped build the Das Paradies website, which its founders had promoted as a survivalism and camping website. According to Texas Pete, the Das Paradies founders misrepresented themselves to American Futurist and Mason to get their endorsement.Texas Pete, “Atomwaffen Returns?,” American Futurist November 9, 2021. The same day, the new AWD announced on Das Paradies it was severing ties with the NSO, American Futurist, Mason, and Russell. According to the November 9 AWD announcement, “AWD can NEVER be disbanded again by ANYONE. Anyone trying to claim that the Atomwaffen Division is disbanded or fake is nothing more than a coward trying to hinder our efforts.”Atomwaffen Division, “Cutting Ties,” Das Paradies, November 9, 2021.

On November 12, the American Futurist released a video of Mason condemning the new AWD as a “stupid action on the part of one lone nut” that threatened to put other former AWD members in legal jeopardy from “the enemy government.”“James Mason Denouncement Video,” 12:02, Odysee video, posted by “The American Futurist Official,” November 12, 2021. Mason condemned “the enemy media” for spreading the “lie” of a new AWD.“James Mason Denouncement Video,” 12:02, Odysee video, posted by “The American Futurist Official,” November 12, 2021. He reiterated that AWD had retired “with all honor” in 2020 and it would continue to live in legend like the American Nazi Party and the National Socialist Liberation Front.“James Mason Denouncement Video,” 12:02, Odysee video, posted by “The American Futurist Official,” November 12, 2021.

In January 2022, members of the new AWD joined members of The Base for a winter survival training exercise. According to The Base, participants shared their “knowledge of bushcraft and lifted one another up to new heights ultimately increasing our capabilities as a cohesive unit and as brothers in arms.”The Base, Telegram channel, January 30, 2022. American Futurist severed ties with the NSO on September 7, 2022. Its announcement accused “bad actors” of taking over the organization on behalf of the British neo-Nazi Satanist group the Order of the Nine Angles (ONA or O9A) and promoting “Satanism and Child Rape.”“Breaking Ties with the NSO,” American Futurist, September 7, 2022. According to the American Futurist, these bad actors attempted to remove NSO co-founder Ryan Arthur because of his opposition to Satanism. The American Futurist declared the NSO to be “dead.”“Breaking Ties with the NSO,” American Futurist, September 7, 2022. On September 12, Arthur announced on the American Futurist site that a group of former NSO members had created a new organization, the National Socialist Resistance Front (NSRF).“The Founding of the NSRF,” American Futurist, September 12, 2022. The following month, on October 30, American Futurist announced it was severing ties with Mason. According to the announcement, Mason had accused Arthur of purposefully not uploading Mason’s content, stealing, lying, and other misdeeds. Allegedly the issues began in April 2022. American Futurist leaders claimed they disproved all of Mason’s accusations against Ryan. A few weeks later, American Futurist leaders discovered an alleged affair between Mason and the wife of an NSO member. American Futurist leaders decided at that point to begin drawing down their focus on Mason’s works, while not entirely severing their relationship with Mason.Texas Pete, “James Mason: The Fall,” American Futurist, October 30, 2022.

According to the American Futurist statement, Mason had begun making negative, false statements about “AWD heroes” Cameron Denton and Kaleb Cole, blaming them for “almost getting him in trouble” and accusing them of almost causing him to go back to prison.Texas Pete, “James Mason: The Fall,” American Futurist, October 30, 2022. According to the American Futurist, returning to prison as one of Mason’s greatest fears. The October 30 announcement also accused Mason working with a former NSO member named Zackary, a.k.a. “Wulfrik,” to build a new website without his supporters at American Futurist. The announcement further accused Wulfrik of being a known pedophile who had been expelled from NSO prior to its takeover by ONA. As a result, the American Futurist announced it would continue to sell and promote Siege but would sever its relations with Mason. The American Futurist declared it was time to “move away from” Mason and the “cult of personality” his followers had built around him.Texas Pete, “James Mason: The Fall,” American Futurist, October 30, 2022. The announcement did not address the future of the NSRF.

Matthew Heimbach is an American white-nationalist leader who co-founded the now-defunct Traditionalist Worker Party (TWP) and briefly served as the community outreach director of the National Socialist Movement (NSM).“Traditionalist Worker Party,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed September 27, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/traditionalist-worker-party. Heimbach has sought to unite U.S. white-nationalist groups and bring them into the public mainstream. His efforts have included co-creating the Nationalist Front umbrella group and the promotion of the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Heimbach has previously claimed to reject violence, though he encouraged his followers to attack protesters in Charlottesville. He has been linked to other violent incidents as well, including a 2016 assault on a black protester at a political rally.Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018), 157; Brett Barrouquere, “Days after guilty plea, Matthew Heimbach re-emerges in new alliance with National Socialist Movement,” Southern Poverty Law Center, September 24, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/24/days-after-guilty-plea-matthew-heimbach-re-emerges-new-alliance-national-socialist-movement. Heimbach has claimed white unity is key to improving the economic and social position of white people who have been “left behind” while minorities have prospered.Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018), 38, 166-169. Heimbach has declared he is acting as an advocate for white European Americans much like the NAACP does for African Americans.Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018), 33-48. However, on April 1, 2020, Heimbach claimed he was leaving the neo-Nazi movement as he believes all members of the working class need to work together to address longstanding political, social, and economic problems.Brett Barrouguere, “Two Prominent Neo-Nazis Recant, but Their Actions Sow Doubts,” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 14, 2020, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/05/14/two-prominent-neo-nazis-recant-their-actions-sow-doubts. In July 2021, Heimbach announced he was restarting the TWP to focus on economic disparity and a violent revolution against the global elite.Mark Greenblatt and Lauren Knapp, “Extremist Heimbach To Relaunch Hate Group, Says He Supports Violence,” Newsy, July 20, 2021, https://www.newsy.com/stories/extremist-heimbach-to-relaunch-hate-group-supports-violence-3/.

Heimbach’s platform is based around the idea that the white race has been disadvantaged because of globalism and multiculturalism, which he has largely blamed on a global Jewish conspiracy. Heimbach claims white unity is necessary because the Jews hate all white people equally.Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018, 63, 200. The U.K. government has warned that Heimbach’s anti-Semitic rhetoric could incite violence and banned Heimbach from entering the country in October 2015.Jessica Elgot, “Theresa May bans US segregationist from UK for ‘neo-Nazi’ remarks,” Guardian (London), November 4, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/04/theresa-may-bans-us-segregationist-from-uk-for-neo-nazi-remarks. Heimbach envisions an amicable separation of the races as illustrated by his oft-used slogan “Stop the hate, separate.”Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018), 33-48. To accomplish this, Heimbach has pushed for unity between otherwise disparate white-nationalist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Hammerskin Nation, and the NSM. He has pushed these groups—with mixed results—to soften their explicitly racist rhetoric and abandon vilified symbols like the swastika in order to appear more mainstream.Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018), 200-201, 208-222. Though he claims to reject violence, he has described violent groups such as the Aryan Terror Brigade as “part of the big White Advocacy tent.”“Matthew Heimbach Embracing Hard-Core White Supremacy,” Anti-Defamation League, October 4, 2013, https://www.adl.org/blog/matthew-heimbach-embracing-hard-core-white-supremacy; Mark Potok, “The Little Fuhrer: Matthew Heimbach Goes All the Way,” Southern Poverty Law Center, October 7, 2013, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2013/10/07/little-f%C3%BChrer-matthew-heimbach-goes-all-way.

Heimbach first gained national attention while attending Towson University in Maryland, where he created the White Student Union, a group unaffiliated with the university that sought to stem the “genocide against the European people.”Caitlin Dickson, “Riding Along With a Towson University Student’s ‘White Patrol,’” Daily beast, April 24, 2013, https://www.thedailybeast.com/riding-along-with-a-towson-university-students-white-patrol. In 2013, the White Student Union created nightly patrols to seek out so-called “black predators.”“White Student Union,” Vice, December 25, 2013, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/znqpye/white-student-union. That April, Heimbach attended the annual conference of the ethno-nationalist magazine American Renaissance in Tennessee. There he met Matt Parrott and his stepdaughter, Brooke, whom Heimbach would marry the following year.Tony Rehagen, “Matthew Heimbach Has A Dream—A Very Different Dream,” Indianapolis Monthly, April 2017, https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/features/white-space/; Marwa Eltagouri, “White nationalist leader Matthew Heimbach arrested on domestic battery charges,” Washington Post, March 13, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/13/white-nationalist-leader-matthew-heimbach-arrested-for-domestic-battery/?utm_term=.9680702f43da; Allie Conti, “White Nationalist Matthew Heimbach Is Going to Jail,” Vice, May 15, 2018, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbkadb/matthew-heimbach-the-white-nationalist-in-that-bizarre-love-triangle-is-going-to-jail. After graduating from Towson in the spring of 2013, Heimbach and Matt Parrott transformed the White Student Union into the Traditionalist Youth Network (TYN) to promote what they considered traditional European values.“Matthew Heimbach,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed October 22, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/matthew-heimbach.

In 2015, Heimbach and Parrott created the TWP as the political arm of the TYN. They registered the TWP as a political party with the intention of endorsing political candidates who shared their ethno-nationalist values.“Traditionalist Worker Party,” Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed September 27, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/traditionalist-worker-party. The TWP claimed to actively fight for a white homeland in order to secure the future existence of the white people. The TWP rejected atheism and secularism while claiming its members came from the “traditional faiths of the European people.” The TWP promoted the interests of white Americans who had been “abandoned by the System and actively attacked by globalists and traitorous politicians.”“Party Platform,” Traditionalist Worker Party, accessed August 24, 2017, http://www.tradworker.org/platform/. The party was based in a southern Indiana compound owned by Parrott. Parrott and Heimbach lived with their respective spouses in the compound and encouraged other followers to join them.Shay McAlister, “S. Indiana white nationalists working to shut the door on multicultural America,” 2016, WHAS 11 ABC, http://www.whas11.com/news/special-reports/s-indiana-white-nationalists-working-to-shut-the-door-on-multicultural-america/373394558.

In 2016, Heimbach and NSM leader Jeff Schoep created the Aryan Nationalist Alliance (ANA), to unite U.S. white-nationalist groups. The ANA platform recognized fundamental differences in both approach and ideology among its member groups but unified around the idea that all national problems—“from street crime to anti-White governmental policies, to attacks on our sovereignty and faith”—could be solved with the creation of a white nation.Vegas Tenold, Everything You Love Will Burn (New York: Nation Books, 2018), 157. ANA rebranded as the Nationalist Front in November 2016.“National Socialist Movement/Nationalist Front,” Anti-Defamation League, accessed October 15, 2018, https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/national-socialist-movementnationalist-front.

In August 2017, Heimbach promoted and attended the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He and his TWP followers were involved in physical altercations with protesters during the rally. Heimbach also reportedly ordered followers to tear down police barricades in Charlottesville’s Emancipation Park where the rally was held.Robert King, “This Indiana man is in the middle of the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville,” Indianapolis Star, August 12, 2018, https://www.indystar.com/story/news/2017/08/12/unite-right-white-nationalist-rally-charlottesville-erupts-violence/562095001/.

The TWP collapsed in 2018 following Heimbach’s arrest and Parrott’s resignation. On March 13, 2018, Heimbach assaulted his wife and Parrott in their Indiana home after the pair discovered Heimbach was having an affair with Parrott’s wife. Heimbach was charged with misdemeanor battery and felony domestic battery in the presence of a child under 16.Marwa Eltagouri, “White nationalist leader Matthew Heimbach arrested on domestic battery charges,” Washington Post, March 13, 2018, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/03/13/white-nationalist-leader-matthew-heimbach-arrested-for-domestic-battery/?utm_term=.9680702f43da; Thomas Novelly, “White nationalist Matthew Heimbach arrested after trailer park fight over alleged affair,” Courier-Journal, March 14, 2018, https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/03/14/white-nationalists-matthew-heimbach-david-parrott-trailer-park-fight-affair/423366002/. Parrott resigned from the TWP shortly after and took down the group’s website.Brett Barrouquere and Rachel Janik, “TWP chief Matthew Heimbach arrested for battery after affair with top spokesman's wife,” Southern Poverty Law Center, March 13, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/03/13/twp-chief-matthew-heimbach-arrested-battery-after-affair-top-spokesmans-wife. It remains to be seen if other leaders will arise to revive the TWP.

The March 2018 assault led to Heimbach’s 90-day incarceration for violating the terms of his probation related to a 2016 arrest. In March 2016, Heimbach was charged with harassment and misdemeanor assault after he shoved a black protester at a rally for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Louisville, Kentucky. Heimbach has claimed that he acted “pursuant to the directives and requests of” Trump and his campaign.Kenneth P. Vogel, “White nationalist claims Trump directed rally violence,” Politico, April 17, 2017, https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/donald-trump-rally-violence-237302. In July 2017, Heimbach pled guilty to assault charges and received a suspended prison sentence, a fine, and an order to attend anger management classes. The suspended sentence was conditional on Heimbach maintaining a clean arrest record for two years.“White nationalist pleads guilty in Trump rally case,” Associated Press, July 19, 2017, https://apnews.com/ee14f79ada6947e38e90ee9cac33d999. In May 2018, Heimbach was sentenced to 38 days in the city jail in Louisville, Kentucky, for violating the terms of his probation.Jason Riley, “White nationalist who harassed woman at Trump rally ordered to serve 38 days in jail,” WDRB.com, May 15, 2018, http://www.wdrb.com/story/38193191/white-nationalist-who-harassed-woman-at-trump-rally-ordered-to-serve-38-days-in-jail#.WvsW4CjYV28.twitter. Heimbach is still subject to a civil lawsuit related to the 2016 incident.Andrea Diaz, “Trump did not incite violence against protesters at a 2016 campaign rally, court rules,” CNN, September12, 2018, https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/12/politics/trump-wins-dismissal-lawsuit-kentucky-trnd/index.html.

Since the TWP’s collapse, Heimbach has continued to promote his version of ethno-nationalism. In September 2018, he became the NSM’s community outreach director. Departing from NSM’s traditional rhetoric and signifying a shift in NSM’s tactics, Heimbach publicly stated his intent to engage with “communities of color” in what NSM leader Schoep declared a “new era of National Socialism.”Brett Barrouquere, “Days after guilty plea, Matthew Heimbach re-emerges in new alliance with National Socialist Movement,” Southern Poverty Law Center, September 24, 2018, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2018/09/24/days-after-guilty-plea-matthew-heimbach-re-emerges-new-alliance-national-socialist-movement.

On December 9, 2019, Heimbach was listed as the sole incorporator of the National Socialist Charitable Coalition (NSCC)—an organization that solicits mail and donations for those convicted or accused of murders, hate crimes, and similar offenses. The NSCC claims to not promote “a political agenda” and offers no opinion on the guilt or innocence of inmates. However, the rhetoric employed throughout the site often downplays the severity of terror attacks. Among those listed in the inmate database are: Robert Bowers, the perpetrator of the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre; Dylann Roof, who carried out the 2015 Emanuel AME Church shooting in Charleston; and James Alex Fields, who ran over anti-racism protesters in Charlottesville in 2017, ultimately killing one woman.Peter Smith, “Website seeks support for those accused of hate crimes, killings,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 2, 2020, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2020/03/02/Website-seeks-support-for-killers-others-accused-of-hate-crimes/stories/202002210127. According to the NSCC, Bowers allegedly “shot several congregants,” without mentioning the number of deaths or injuries, and also reiterates Fields’s defense that the Charlottesville killing was an accident. On February 24, 2020, Heimbach surrendered the charity, leaving his former partner, Parrot, as the lone contact for the organization.Brett Barrouguere, “Two Prominent Neo-Nazis Recant, but Their Actions Sow Doubts,” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 14, 2020, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/05/14/two-prominent-neo-nazis-recant-their-actions-sow-doubts.

Heimbach announced that he was leaving the neo-Nazi movement on April 1, 2020. However, some critics doubted the authenticity of Heimbach’s statement given ongoing legal proceedings concerning his violent role during the Charlottesville rally.John Eligon, “He Says His Nazi Days Are Over. Do You Believe Him?,” New York Times, April 4, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/04/us/jeff-schoep-white-nationalist-reformer.html. Heimbach claimed his decision was based on “redefining my community as all members of the working class, instead of just White members of the working class, redefines fundamentally the political, social and economic solutions to problems we all face.”Brett Barrouguere, “Two Prominent Neo-Nazis Recant, but Their Actions Sow Doubts,” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 14, 2020, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2020/05/14/two-prominent-neo-nazis-recant-their-actions-sow-doubts. n February 2021, he told Ohio television station WKRC he had sobered up and his sympathies had shifted toward communism and leftist politicians like U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. He told WKRC that the divisions between people were not race driven but based on economic disparities. As such, he said he would work with Black Lives Matter or any other racial group to fight against the economic gap. “The capitalist class that rules this country does not care, fundamentally,” he said.Duane Pohlman, “Can a man turn 180 degrees and renounce fascism?,” WKRC, February 4, 2021, https://local12.com/news/investigates/can-a-man-turn-180-degrees-and-renounce-fascism. Heimbach was scheduled to speak at a Medicare For All rally in Muncie, Indiana, that July. National organizers canceled the rally after receiving complaints about Heimbach’s participation.Robin Gibson, “Outrage over divisive speaker apparently cancels Muncie march plans,” Star Press, June 30, 2021, https://www.thestarpress.com/story/news/local/2021/06/30/outrage-over-divisive-speaker-apparently-cancels-muncie-march-plans/7813895002/.

In July 2021, Heimbach announced his intentions to relaunch the TWP.  He told the website Newsy he was drawing inspiration from Marxism and Bolshevism to support global revolution. Heimbach told Newsy he did not “particularly like Judaism as a religion.”Mark Greenblatt and Lauren Knapp, “Extremist Heimbach To Relaunch Hate Group, Says He Supports Violence,” Newsy, July 20, 2021, https://www.newsy.com/stories/extremist-heimbach-to-relaunch-hate-group-supports-violence-3/. Heimbach also called for President Joe Biden and former presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, and George W. Bush to be tried for crimes against society. He pled the fifth amendment—protection from self-incrimination—when asked if it is permissible to kill the U.S. president. According to the report, Heimbach intended to relaunch the TWP that month.Mark Greenblatt and Lauren Knapp, “Extremist Heimbach To Relaunch Hate Group, Says He Supports Violence,” Newsy, July 20, 2021, https://www.newsy.com/stories/extremist-heimbach-to-relaunch-hate-group-supports-violence-3/.

On November 23, 2021, a U.S. District Court in Charlottesville found Heimbach and other organizers of the Unite the Right rally liable in a civil suit that alleged they were responsible for injuries to counter-protesters. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on two federal conspiracy charges. The two dozen defendants in the lawsuit included Parrott, Richard Spencer, event organizer Jason Kessler, and neo-Nazi podcaster Christopher Cantwell, among others. The jury awarded plaintiffs more than $25 million in damages.Neil MacFarquhar, “Jury Finds Rally Organizers Responsible for Charlottesville Violence,” New York Times, November 23, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/us/charlottesville-rally-verdict.html; Ellie Silverman, “Neo-Nazi told leader of group at deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally: ‘We’re all doing it together,’” Washington Post, November 4, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/11/04/charlottesville-lawsuit-nazis-heimbach-trial/. According to Heimbach’s testimony during the trial, he had proposed the uniform of khakis and polo shirts for the rally. In a June 5, 2017, message to Vanguard America commander Dillon Hopper, Heimbach referred to the two of them, National Socialist Movement leader Jeff Schoep, and League of the South leader Michael Hill as the leadership of the far right. Heimbach said the Charlottesville rally would bring them together with other far-right leaders.Ellie Silverman, “Neo-Nazi told leader of group at deadly 2017 Charlottesville rally: ‘We’re all doing it together,’” Washington Post, November 4, 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/11/04/charlottesville-lawsuit-nazis-heimbach-trial/. The jury held Heimbach liable for $500,000.Mark Morales and Steve Almasy, “Jury finds Unite the Right defendants liable for more than $26 million in damages,” CNN, November 23, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/us/charlottesville-unite-the-right-trial-deliberations-tuesday/index.html. After the jury announced its decision, Heimbach claimed he is a single father of two sons, working paycheck to paycheck, and will never be able to pay the damages. He accused the plaintiffs’ lawyers of wasting $20 million “to try and play Whac-A-Mole with public figureheads.”Denise Lavoie and Michael Kunzelman, “Collecting $26M award vs. white nationalists may be tough,” Associated Press, November 24, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-charlottesville-4a50a14dff0f862b3b09da09054a690d.

Munir Abdulkader, a U.S. citizen, is a self-radicalized and convicted supporter of ISIS. He had originally sought to join ISIS abroad in Syria, but ultimately decided to carry out an attack in the United States—plotting to kill a U.S. military employee and to attack a police station in Ohio. Police arrested him in May 2015 before an attack occurred. Abdulkader was charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill a government employee, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime. In February 2016, he pled guilty to all charges and was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and lifetime of supervised release later that year in November.Department of Justice/Office of Public Affairs, “Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Plot to Attack U.S. Government Officers,” November 23, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-plot-attack-us-government-officers; USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Sentencing Proceedings,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, November 23, 2016, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/AbdulkaderSentencingProceedings.pdf.

Abdulkader received U.S. citizenship in 2006 and resided in West Chester, Ohio. He studied chemistry and business at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. According to friends and family, Abdulkader was smart, did well in school, and was popular and well-liked. He appeared to be well-integrated in his community.USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Sentencing Proceedings,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, November 23, 2016, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/AbdulkaderSentencingProceedings.pdf.

In 2014, Abdulkader began to post statements and videos on Twitter indicating his support for ISIS. He frequently expressed his desire to join the terrorist organization as a foreign fighter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began monitoring his activities during this time.USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Affidavit in Support of Complaint,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, May 22, 2015, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/Abdulkader%20Affidavit.pdf.

In March and April 2015, Abdulkader made concrete preparations to travel to Syria. He applied for a U.S. passport, saved money, and researched the logistical details to join ISIS. However, Abdulkader grew concerned as U.S. authorities began arresting attempted pro-ISIS foreign fighters prior to their departure. Abdulkader ultimately canceled his plans to join ISIS abroad.USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Affidavit in Support of Complaint,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, May 22, 2015, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/Abdulkader%20Affidavit.pdf.

In May 2015, Abdulkader communicated electronically with ISIS members overseas and eventually came into contact with now-deceased ISIS operative Junaid Hussain, who encouraged Abdulkader to pursue an attack within the United States. Specifically, Hussain recommended that Abdulkader target police stations, since attacking a military base would be more difficult.Department of Justice/Office of Public Affairs, “Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Plot to Attack U.S. Government Officers,” November 23, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-plot-attack-us-government-officers; USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Sentencing Proceedings,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, November 23, 2016, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/AbdulkaderSentencingProceedings.pdf.

Following Hussain’s advice, Abdulkader planned to abduct a military employee from his home and behead him.USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Sentencing Proceedings,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, November 23, 2016, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/AbdulkaderSentencingProceedings.pdf. He had planned to film the execution, which was intended to serve as ISIS propaganda.Department of Justice/Office of Public Affairs, “Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Plot to Attack U.S. Government Officers,” November 23, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-plot-attack-us-government-officers. Abdulkader also plotted to attack a police station in Cincinnati, Ohio, using firearms and Molotov cocktails.USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Sentencing Proceedings,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, November 23, 2016, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/AbdulkaderSentencingProceedings.pdf. In preparation for the attack, Abdulkader conducted surveillance of the police station, took lessons at a shooting range, and purchased an AK-47 assault rifle. He was subsequently arrested by law enforcement authorities and charged for conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to kill a government employee, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime.Department of Justice/Office of Public Affairs, “Ohio Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Plot to Attack U.S. Government Officers,” November 23, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/ohio-man-sentenced-20-years-prison-plot-attack-us-government-officers.

On February 29, 2016, Abdulkader pled guilty to all charges. His defense attorney emphasized in court that Abdulkader never denied his involvement and noted that Abdulkader regretted his poor decisions. On November 23, 2016, He was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment and lifetime supervised release.USA v. Munir Abdulkader, “Sentencing Proceedings,” George Washington University – Program on Extremism, November 23, 2016, https://extremism.gwu.edu/sites/g/files/zaxdzs2191/f/AbdulkaderSentencingProceedings.pdf.

Lionel Nelson Williams was an American citizen who pleaded guilty in August 2017 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.Scott Daugherty, “Suffolk man who wanted to be a martyr pleads guilty to trying to aid the Islamic State,” Virginian-Pilot, August 16, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/article_495d7307-8723-5815-914f-af098c88d1fe.html. Williams was reported to authorities in March 2016 for online posts that he made in support of the group. Williams later attempted to send money to individuals that he believed were ISIS fundraisers in order to finance the purchase of weapons and ammunition for the group. He was arrested in December 2016 following comments that he made suggesting that he was planning to carry out a domestic terror attack in the near future.“Affidavit in Support of an Application for a Criminal Complaint,” U.S. Department of Justice, December 22, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/920321/download. Williams was sentenced to 20 years in prison following his guilty plea.Scott Daugherty, “Would-be terrorist from Suffolk sentenced to 20 years for supporting Islamic State,” Virginian-Pilot, December 20, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/article_06e7fe04-8f4e-5578-8cb4-7f115aa1271d.html.

In 2014, Williams reportedly began sharing articles and videos about ISIS with an acquaintance from high school.Scott Daugherty, “Would-be terrorist from Suffolk sentenced to 20 years for supporting Islamic State,” Virginian-Pilot, December 20, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/article_06e7fe04-8f4e-5578-8cb4-7f115aa1271d.html. On the day following the December 2015 terror attack in San Bernardino, California, Williams ordered an assault rifle, which he kept on his bedroom dresser. According to reports from neighbors, Williams conducted target practice in a field near his home beginning in early 2016. During this time, Williams was also active on Facebook, where he posted ISIS propaganda videos and lecture videos by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula propagandist Anwar al-Awlaki, as well as a pledge of allegiance to ISIS and comments expressing his support for attacks against security personnel.“Affidavit in Support of an Application for a Criminal Complaint,” U.S. Department of Justice, December 22, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/920321/download.

In March 2016, an acquaintance reported Williams to authorities for his online posts. The following month, an undercover FBI operative made contact with Williams over Facebook, and the two met in person in June. During their meeting, Williams state that he supported attacks on security targets. In September, Williams agreed to contribute money to fund ISIS fighters in Mosul, Iraq. On October 10, 2016, Williams provided his account information to an individual that he believed was an ISIS fundraiser. On November 3, 2016, Williams sent 50 dollars via an electronic transfer service to another individual that he believed was an ISIS facilitator based in the Middle East, though in reality, the money was seized by the U.S. government. In both cases, Williams believed that his money would be used to finance the purchase of weapons and ammunition for ISIS.“Affidavit in Support of an Application for a Criminal Complaint,” U.S. Department of Justice, December 22, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/920321/download.

Williams also spoke of his desire to carry out a martyrdom operation. In December 2016, Williams stated to another individual that “it [would] be soon,” and began discussing his plans to get rid of his money before his intended death. Williams was arrested by FBI agents on December 21 and charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS.“Affidavit in Support of an Application for a Criminal Complaint,” U.S. Department of Justice, December 22, 2015, https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/920321/download.

On August 16, 2017, Williams pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.Scott Daugherty, “Suffolk man who wanted to be a martyr pleads guilty to trying to aid the Islamic State,” Virginian-Pilot, August 16, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/article_495d7307-8723-5815-914f-af098c88d1fe.html. On December 20, 2017, Williams was sentenced to 20 years in prison. According to prosecutors, although he had been in custody for nearly a year at the time, he had not disavowed the radical ideology that had motivated his actions.Scott Daugherty, “Would-be terrorist from Suffolk sentenced to 20 years for supporting Islamic State,” Virginian-Pilot, December 20, 2017, https://pilotonline.com/news/local/crime/article_06e7fe04-8f4e-5578-8cb4-7f115aa1271d.html.

Williams is currently incarcerated at Beckley Federal Correctional Institution in Beaver, West Virginia, with a scheduled release date of March 15, 2034.“LIONEL NELSON WILLIAMS,” Find an Inmate – Federal Bureau of Prisons, accessed April 14, 2021, https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/.

Khalil Abu-Rayyan is an American citizen who expressed support for ISIS and a desire to carry out a domestic terror attack on a church in Detroit. He was investigated by the FBI after making increasingly violent terror threats on Twitter.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf. Rayyan was arrested on an unrelated charge of illegal firearm possession, and was sentenced to five years in prison on April 6, 2017. Rayyan was given a sentence greater than that recommended by federal guidelines for the charge due to his professed intentions to carry out a domestic terror attack.Orlandar Brand-Williams, “Accused ISIS supporter gets 5 years on firearm charges,” Detroit News, April 6, 2017, http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2017/04/06/accused-isis-supporter-sentenced/100135862/. He was released from prison on June 5, 2020.“KHALIL ABU-RAYYAN,” Find an Inmate – Federal Bureau of Prisons, accessed April 12, 2021, https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/.

Rayyan, who was born to Jordanian immigrants living in Dearborn Heights, Michigan, worked as a pizza delivery man.Lisa Rose, “How a suicidal pizza man found himself ensnared in an FBI terror sting,” CNN, November 29, 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/29/politics/aby-rayyan-fbi-terror-sting-pizza-man/index.html; Niraj Warikoo, “Dearborn Heights man accused of supporting ISIS sentenced to 5 years,” Detroit Free Press, April 6, 2017, https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/04/06/khalil-abu-rayyan-isis/100090964/. He was active on social media and starting in November 2014, began to retweet, like, and comment on ISIS propaganda material on his Twitter account, @khalilray21. The propaganda included news of ISIS victories and violent execution videos. Rayyan also posted a photo in which he was holding a pistol and making a gesture that signaled his support for ISIS. The FBI began to investigate Rayyan beginning in May 2015 due to increasingly violent threats that he was making about committing terrorist attacks in the name of ISIS.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf. For example, he reportedly stated that he wanted to skin victims “like sheep.”Ed White, The Associated Press, “Khalil Abu Rayyan, Michigan Convict, Said He Wanted To Skin Victims ‘Like Sheep,’” Huffington Post, April 7, 2017, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/04/07/khalil-abu-rayyan_n_15861684.html. In November, he began used the Twitter account @khalilabura21, and tweeted a photo of himself with a weapon at a firing range with the caption “sawat hunting”––sawat being a term for Iraqis who oppose ISIS.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf. Additionally, Rayyan also allegedly listened to extremist clerics such as Ahmad Jibril of Dearborn, Michigan, and al-Qaeda cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.Niraj Warikoo, “Dearborn Heights man accused of supporting ISIS sentenced to 5 years,” Detroit Free Press, April 6, 2017, http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2017/04/06/khalil-abu-rayyan-isis/100090964/.

That December, an undercover FBI operative made contact with Rayyan over social media. In their conversations, Rayyan expressed his support for ISIS and stated that he carried the same type of gun used by ISIS fighters. He also told the FBI agent that bought bullets and made plans to “shoot up” a large church close to his place of employment in Detroit, but that his father found his materials in his car and stopped him before he could carry out the attack. Rayyan stated that he had wanted to target a church because “it’s easy, and a lot of people go there…Plus it would make the news.” He stated that he regretted not carrying out the attack, and that he wanted to “do [his] jihad over here” if he could not wage jihad in the Middle East.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf. When asked if he would kill women and children, Rayyan stated that “I would have killed every last one of them…I would have shown no mercy.” Ed White, The Associated Press, “Khalil Abu Rayyan, Michigan Convict, Said He Wanted To Skin Victims ‘Like Sheep,’” Huffington Post, April 7, 2017, http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/04/07/khalil-abu-rayyan_n_15861684.html. Investigators identified a church that fit Rayyan’s description that could hold up to 6,000 individuals.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf.

In January, Rayyan also stated to the undercover FBI operative that he wanted to kill the officer who arrested in him October, who was presently in the hospital. Rayyan expressed a desire to carry out a domestic terror attack in the hospital that the officer was at. Rayyan also told the operative that he carried a knife or sword in his car and that it was his “dream” to behead someone.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf.

Rayyan purchased a pistol on October 5, 2015. Two days later, he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile and marijuana possession after he was stopped by a police officer for speeding, but was subsequently released on bail. He attempted to purchase another pistol after his release.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf. He was also given similar charges by a state court the following month and pled guilty to both. In February 2016, he was sentenced to two years of probation by a state judge.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf; “Dearborn Heights Resident Charged with Illegal Possession of Firearm,” U.S. Department of Justice, February 8, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/pr/dearborn-heights-resident-charged-illegal-possession-firearm; “Accused ISIS sympathizer in Dearborn Heights sentenced for gun charge,” ClickOnDetroit, February 16, 2016, https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/dad-asks-judge-to-release-son-who-is-accused-of-church-plot_.

Rayyan was arrested again by FBI agents on February 4, 2016, for being a marijuana user in possession of a firearm.“United States of America v. Khalil Abu Rayyan,” United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, February 4, 2016, https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2016/02/05/SKM_C554e16020515520_2078266_ver1.0.pdf. He underwent federal trial the following year and was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison on April 6, 2017. The federal judge gave Rayyan a sentence greater than that recommended by federal guidelines for the charge due to Rayyan’s professed intentions to carry out a domestic terror attack.Orlandar Brand-Williams, “Accused ISIS supporter gets 5 years on firearm charges,” Detroit News, April 6, 2017, http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/wayne-county/2017/04/06/accused-isis-supporter-sentenced/100135862/. He was released from prison on June 5, 2020.“KHALIL ABU-RAYYAN,” Find an Inmate – Federal Bureau of Prisons, accessed April 12, 2021, https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/.

Zulfi Hoxha is an American senior commander in ISIS. He has also appeared in at least one propaganda video for the group. Before joining ISIS, Hoxha communicated with other American ISIS supporters on social media, who helped fund his travel to Syria. He departed for Syria in April 2015 and became a foreign fighter for ISIS.Seamus Hughes et al., “A New American Leader Rises in ISIS,” Atlantic, January 13, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/isis-america-hoxha/550508/.

Hoxha was born in the United States to Albanian parents. He grew up in Margate, New Jersey, and graduated from Atlantic City High School in 2010.Craig R. McCoy et al., “From Atlantic City High to ISIS: the path of a homegrown terrorist,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 19, 2018, http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/american-isis-commander-atlantic-city-margate-zulfi-hoxha-2-20180119.html. According to his mother, he attended a mosque, where he may have been radicalized.Ariel Zilber, “‘Liberate yourself from hellfire by killing a non-believer’: Terrorist seen executing a prisoner in vile ISIS propaganda video and urging lone wolf attacks in the US is a New Jersey high school graduate,” Daily Mail (London), January 19, 2018, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5290151/ISIS-soldier-seen-beheading-video-American.html.

Hoxha was active on social media before his departure for Syria. He reportedly operated a Twitter account on which he interacted with other ISIS supporters as well as the U.S. State Department’s “Think Again Turn Away” counter-propaganda account in October 2014. He was also active on the video gaming website Steam, where he reportedly first interacted with David Daoud Wright, a U.S.-born ISIS supporter who plotted to carry out a domestic terror attack, sometime before November 2014. Hoxha and Wright discussed their support for ISIS on Skype and the messaging app Paltalk, where they participated in pro-ISIS chatrooms and shared ISIS propaganda materials with each other, including execution videos and the magazine Dabiq. Wright and his uncle Usaamah Abdullah Rahim––who was later shot and killed by law enforcement officers after he tried to attack them with a large knife––sold a laptop on Craigslist to help Hoxha raise money for the plane ticket that he would use to travel overseas to join ISIS.Seamus Hughes et al., “A New American Leader Rises in ISIS,” Atlantic, January 13, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/isis-america-hoxha/550508/.

Hoxha departed the United States for Istanbul, Turkey, on April 6, 2015. By April 10, he had arrived at an ISIS training camp in Syria. Hoxha informed Rahim of his arrival in ISIS territory through an encrypted messaging app. After Hoxha began training, Rahim continued to receive updates on his activities from British ISIS facilitator Junaid Hussain.Seamus Hughes et al., “A New American Leader Rises in ISIS,” Atlantic, January 13, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/isis-america-hoxha/550508/. According to U.S. law enforcement, Hoxha was a senior ISIS commander as of 2017.Seamus Hughes et al., “A New American Leader Rises in ISIS,” Atlantic, January 13, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/isis-america-hoxha/550508/.

Hoxha has also represented ISIS in the group’s propaganda videos. In May 2017, Hoxha appeared in an ISIS propaganda video filmed in northwestern Iraq entitled “We Will Surely Guide Them To Our Ways.” In the video, masked and using the name “Abu Hamza al-Amriki,” Hoxha calls upon supporters to carry out domestic terror attacks within the United States. Hoxha’s identity in the video was confirmed by the the U.S. government.Seamus Hughes et al., “A New American Leader Rises in ISIS,” Atlantic, January 13, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/isis-america-hoxha/550508/. Another ISIS propaganda video released in October 2015 shows an American ISIS fighter beheading a Kurdish soldier. According to the Atlantic, the American speaks with “the same accent and inflection as Hoxha in the May 2017 release.”Seamus Hughes et al., “A New American Leader Rises in ISIS,” Atlantic, January 13, 2018, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/01/isis-america-hoxha/550508/.

Akayed Ullah is a Bangladeshi national and U.S. permanent resident who attempted to carry out a suicide bombing inside a New York City subway passageway near the Port Authority Bus Terminal on December 11, 2017.“Port Authority Blast Suspect Identified As Akayed Ullah, Is From Bangladesh and Lived In Brooklyn,” CBS New York, December 11, 2017, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/12/11/port-authority-terror-suspect/; Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html. The device only partially detonated, however, and the resulting explosion injured five people in addition to Ullah himself.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint; Lawrence Crook III and Darran Simon, “Manhattan bomb suspect makes court appearance – from hospital bed,” CNN, December 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/port-authority-bombing-suspect-court-appearance/index.html; Brynn Gingras et al., “5 hurt, suspect survives New York attempted suicide terror attack,” ABC 7 Eyewitness News, December 11, 2017, http://abc7ny.com/5-hurt-suspect-survives-nyc-attempted-suicide-terror-attack-/2768166/. Ullah had built the homemade explosive device using instructions that he had found online. He was taken into custody after the attempted attack and told authorities that he had carried it out in the name of ISIS.Tom Winter et al., “NYC explosion: Suspect in custody after ‘terror-related incident’ in subway,” NBC News, December 11, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nyc-authorities-respond-explosion-port-authority-bus-terminal-n828331; “U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. On December 12, Ullah was charged with five counts relating to terrorism.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. He was convicted on November 6, 2018.“Akayed Ullah Convicted for Detonation of a Bomb in New York City,” U.S. Department of Justice, November 6, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/akayed-ullah-convicted-detonation-bomb-new-york-city. Ullah was sentenced to life in prison on April 22, 2021.“Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for ISIS-inspired Bombing in New York City Subway Station in 2017,” U.S. Department of Justice, April 22, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-sentenced-life-prison-isis-inspired-bombing-new-york-city-subway-station-2017.

Ullah was reportedly born on the island of Sandwip in Bangladesh, but grew up in the country’s capital, Dhaka.Omar Tasiq, “NYC subway suspect Akayed Ullah had baby son in June,” NBC News, December 12, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/n-y-subway-suspect-akayed-ullah-had-baby-son-june-n828671. He immigrated legally to the United States with his parents and siblings in February 2011 on a family visa.“Port Authority Blast Suspect Identified As Akayed Ullah, Is From Bangladesh and Lived In Brooklyn,” CBS New York, December 11, 2017, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/12/11/port-authority-terror-suspect/; “New York Port Authority attack: Akayed Ullah ‘inspired by IS,” BBC News, December 12, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42320366. Ullah and his family followed his uncle, who was already a U.S. citizen.Tom Hays, “Prosecutors seek life term for would-be NYC suicide bomber,” Associated Press, April 1, 2021, https://apnews.com/article/new-york-new-york-city-akayed-ullah-islamic-state-group-immigration-649361cefdddaf476dbd3e7a2f871da9. Ullah obtained a green card after his arrival, becoming a legal U.S. permanent resident and living in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, where there is a Bangladeshi community.“Port Authority Blast Suspect Identified As Akayed Ullah, Is From Bangladesh and Lived In Brooklyn,” CBS New York, December 11, 2017, http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2017/12/11/port-authority-terror-suspect/; Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html. Ullah was reportedly religious and attended the Masjid Nur al Islam mosque in his neighborhood.Alan Feur and Luis Ferré-Sadurní, “For Bombing Suspect, a Life Split Between Bangladesh and Brooklyn,” New York Times, December 12, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/12/nyregion/subway-bombing-akayed-ullah-bangladesh.html.

Between March 2012 and March 2015, Ullah held a New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission driver’s license, but the Commission does not have any information on whether he was ever independently hired as a driver.Tom Winter et al., “NYC explosion: Suspect in custody after ‘terror-related incident’ in subway,” NBC News, December 11, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nyc-authorities-respond-explosion-port-authority-bus-terminal-n82833; Ray Sanchez and Joe Sterling, “Akayed Ullah: What we know about the Manhattan explosion suspect,” CNN, December 12, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/11/us/ny-suspect-what-we-know/index.html. Prior to his attempted attack, Ullah reportedly worked as an electrician, at times working near the Port Authority Bus Terminal.Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html; Abigail Gepner et al., “Port Authority bombing suspect was ‘always angry,’” New York Post, December 11, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/neighbors-say-port-authority-bombing-suspect-always-looked-angry/. Authorities report that he made a number of overseas trips, including trips to Dubai and Bangladesh.Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html; Abigail Gepner et al., “Port Authority bombing suspect was ‘always angry,’” New York Post, December 11, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/neighbors-say-port-authority-bombing-suspect-always-looked-angry/. On one of those trips to Bangladesh in 2016, he got married. His wife remained in Bangladesh, and he traveled there to visit her and their newborn son in September 2017.Omar Tasiq, “NYC subway suspect Akayed Ullah had baby son in June,” NBC News, December 12, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/n-y-subway-suspect-akayed-ullah-had-baby-son-june-n828671; Euan McKirdy and Sugam Pokharel, “New York bombing suspect’s wife ‘didn’t know about radicalization,’” CNN, December 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/port-authority-bombing-suspect-akayed-ullah/index.html. Prior to the attempted attack, he had no criminal record either in the United States or in Bangladesh.Abigail Gepner et al., “Port Authority bombing suspect was ‘always angry,’” New York Post, December 11, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/neighbors-say-port-authority-bombing-suspect-always-looked-angry/.

According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Ullah’s radicalization began in 2014. He viewed ISIS propaganda materials online, including a video instructing ISIS supporters to conduct attacks in their home countries.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. Bangladeshi authorities also revealed that Ullah had encouraged his wife to read texts by the radical Bangladeshi imam Jasimuddin Rahmani, who was allegedly inspired by al-Qaeda. Rahmani lead the Islamic extremist group Ansarullah Bangla Team and was implicated in the murders of atheist bloggers.Tracy Connor, “Akayed Ullah hears charges in NYC subway bombing from hospital bed,” NBC News, December 13, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/akayed-ullah-hears-charges-nyc-subway-bombing-hospital-bed-n829346. In 2016, Ullah began conducting Internet research on how to build an explosive device.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. According to the New York Post, he used the instructions from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)’s online propaganda magazine Inspire.Abigail Gepner et al., “Port Authority bombing suspect was ‘always angry,’” New York Post, December 11, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/neighbors-say-port-authority-bombing-suspect-always-looked-angry/. The criminal complaint alleges that he began collecting the necessary materials to build a bomb about two or three weeks before the attempted attack, and constructed the bomb in his Brooklyn apartment.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. The materials that Ullah used included Christmas tree lights, wiring, metal screws, and a metal pipe that he reportedly obtained at a construction work site.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint; Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html.

At approximately 7:20 a.m. on December 11, 2017, in the 42^nd Street underground passageway between New York City’s 7^th and 8^th Avenues, Ullah detonated an explosive device in an attempted attack that injured himself and at least five others.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint; Brynn Gingras et al., “5 hurt, suspect survives New York attempted suicide terror attack,” ABC 7 Eyewitness News, December 11, 2017, http://abc7ny.com/5-hurt-suspect-survives-nyc-attempted-suicide-terror-attack-/2768166/. The incident took place near New York City’s Port Authority Bus Terminal. Ullah had filled the device with metal screws with the intent to cause maximum damage and attached it to his body with plastic zip ties.Tom Winter et al., “NYC explosion: Suspect in custody after ‘terror-related incident’ in subway,” NBC News, December 11, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nyc-authorities-respond-explosion-port-authority-bus-terminal-n828331; “U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. However, the device, which law enforcement officials deemed “low-tech,” only partially detonated: the explosive chemical ignited, but the pipe itself did not explode.Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst, and Tracy Connor, “Akayed Ullah: NYC explosion suspect identified as 27-year-old Brooklyn man,” NBC News, December 11, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/akayed-ullah-nyc-explosion-suspect-identified-27-year-old-brooklyn-n828361; Lawrence Crook III and Darran Simon, “Manhattan bomb suspect makes court appearance – from hospital bed,” CNN, December 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/port-authority-bombing-suspect-court-appearance/index.html. After the attempted attack, he was taken into custody and transferred to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. None of the injuries inflicted were life-threatening.Tom Winter et al., “NYC explosion: Suspect in custody after ‘terror-related incident’ in subway,” NBC News, December 11, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nyc-authorities-respond-explosion-port-authority-bus-terminal-n828331.

Ullah reportedly acted alone in attempting to carry out the attack.Lawrence Crook III and Darran Simon, “Manhattan bomb suspect makes court appearance – from hospital bed,” CNN, December 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/port-authority-bombing-suspect-court-appearance/index.html. Ullah waived his Miranda rights after his arrest and told investigators that he carried out the bombing “for the Islamic State,” although he reportedly had no direct contact with the group.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint; “The Latest: Mayor of Paris sends message of support for NYC,” Associated Press, December 11, 2017, https://www.apnews.com/ec1f7c0078fd427699a96d4889939856; “Akayed Ullah Convicted for Detonation of a Bomb in New York City,” U.S. Department of Justice, November 6, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/akayed-ullah-convicted-detonation-bomb-new-york-city. While in custody, Ullah also reportedly told investigators that he had been inspired by previous Christmas terror attacks in Europe as well as ISIS propaganda materials encouraging a Christmas attack that featured an image of Santa Claus over Times Square, and chose the Port Authority Bus Terminal because of the holiday posters on the subway walls there.“New York Port Authority attack: Allah Ullah ‘inspired by IS,’” BBC News, December 12, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42320366; Ray Sanchez and Joe Sterling, “Akayed Ullah: What we know about the Manhattan explosion suspect,” CNN, December 12, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/11/us/ny-suspect-what-we-know/index.html. He also stated that he chose a workday to carry out the attack because he thought there would be more people in public.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint; Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html.

According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Ullah attempted to carry out the attack because of the U.S. government’s policies in the Middle East.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. Other sources reported that it was in retaliation for American airstrikes in Syria targeting ISIS members, for recent Israeli actions in Gaza, and for “decades of violence” against Muslims in Gaza, Syria, and Iraq.Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html; Lawrence Crook III and Darran Simon, “Manhattan bomb suspect makes court appearance – from hospital bed,” CNN, December 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/port-authority-bombing-suspect-court-appearance/index.html; Shawn Cohen et al., “Suicide bombing suspect was a caber driver bent on revenge: cops,” New York Post, December 11, 2017, https://nypost.com/2017/12/11/suicide-bombing-suspect-was-a-cab-driver-bent-on-revenge-cops/. On the morning of December 11, before carrying out the attempted attack, Ullah made a Facebook post stating, “Trump you failed to protect your nation.” He also made a post implying that the attack would be carried out in the name of ISIS. Additionally, his passport contained a handwritten message that said, “O America, die in your rage.”“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint; Alan Feuer, “Suspect in Times Square Bombing Leaves Trail of Mystery,” New York Times, December 11, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/11/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-bombing-suspect.html. Investigators searching Ullah’s apartment after the bombing discovered pieces of metal pipes, Christmas lights, wires, and screws that match screws found at the scene.“Akayed Ullah Convicted for Detonation of a Bomb in New York City,” U.S. Department of Justice, November 6, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/akayed-ullah-convicted-detonation-bomb-new-york-city.

On December 12, 2017, Ullah was charged with five federal counts relating to terrorism: providing material support to ISIS, use of a weapon of mass destruction, bombing a public place, destruction of property, and use of a destructive device during a crime of violence.“U S v Akayed Ullah Complaint,” NPR, December 12, 2017, https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=4326962-U-S-v-Akayed-Ullah-Complaint. He was also charged with three state counts relating to terrorism. The charges were presented to him during a court hearing on December 13, which Ullah attended via video camera from his hospital bed.Lawrence Crook III and Darran Simon, “Manhattan bomb suspect makes court appearance – from hospital bed,” CNN, December 13, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/us/port-authority-bombing-suspect-court-appearance/index.html; Tracy Connor, “Akayed Ullah hears charges in NYC subway bombing from hospital bed,” NBC News, December 13, 2017, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/akayed-ullah-hears-charges-nyc-subway-bombing-hospital-bed-n829346.

In January 2018, Ullah pleaded not guilty to charges against him.Rana Novini and Jon Schuppe, “Akayed Ullah not guilty to botched New York subway bombing,” NBC News, January 11, 2018, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/akayed-ullah-pleads-not-guilty-botched-new-york-subway-bombing-n836936. Nonetheless, during his federal trial Ullah’s attorneys did not dispute that he had attempted the suicide bombing.Benjamin Weiser and Emily Palmer, “Akayed Ullah Guilty of ISIS-Inspired Bombing Near Times Square,” New York Times, November 6, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/nyregion/port-authority-bombing-verdict.html. Prosecutors presented multiple surveillance videos of Ullah leaving his apartment, traveling to Times Square, and setting off the bomb.Benjamin Weiser, “The Subway Bomber’s Journey to 42nd Street, Captured on Camera,” New York Times, November 5, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/nyregion/port-authority-bomber-trial.html?module=inline. On November 5, 2018, Ullah was convicted on all charges in federal court. After jurors delivered the verdict, Ullah told the judge that he did not support ISIS and that he had in fact attempted the bombing out of anger at President Donald Trump because he had said he would “bomb the Middle East.”Benjamin Weiser and Emily Palmer, “Akayed Ullah Guilty of ISIS-Inspired Bombing Near Times Square,” New York Times, November 6, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/nyregion/port-authority-bombing-verdict.html. Ullah faces a life sentence.Benjamin Weiser and Emily Palmer, “Akayed Ullah Guilty of ISIS-Inspired Bombing Near Times Square,” New York Times, November 6, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/06/nyregion/port-authority-bombing-verdict.html. Although he was initially scheduled for sentencing in February 2020,Tareq Haddad, “Family of Convicted New York Pipe Bomb Detonator Facing Deportation as Unjust 'Collective Punishment,' They Say,” Newsweek, November 30, 2019, https://www.newsweek.com/family-new-york-terrorist-facing-deportation-collective-punishment-1474880. the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has indefinitely delayed Ullah’s sentencing hearing.Stephen Rex Brown, “NYC Judge Upholds Conviction of Port Authority Bomber Akayed Ullah,” Daily News, January 4, 2021, https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-port-authority-bomber-decision-20210104-b74ptfieiffxzo2hlm7lrbsr7u-story.html.

On January 4, 2021, a federal appeals judge declined to overturn Ullah’s guilty verdict. While his lawyers argued that Ullah had not acted on behalf of ISIS, the judge ruled that the evidence “amply establishes that Defendant acted at ISIS’s direction by heeding the call of the organization’s propaganda and recruiting materials.”Rebecca Rosenberg, “Judge Upholds Conviction for Subway Bomber Akayed Ullah,” New York Post, January 4, 2021, https://nypost.com/2021/01/04/judge-upholds-conviction-for-subway-bomber-akayed-ullah/; Larry Neumeister, “Judge Rejects NYC Subway Bomber's Conviction Challenge,” NBC4 New York, January 4, 2021, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/judge-rejects-nyc-subway-bombers-conviction-challenge/2810607/. Ullah was sentenced to life in prison on April 22, 2021. According to federal Judge Richard J. Sullivan, Ullah’s failure to execute the attack did not alleviate his responsibility for a “calculated, premeditated decision to kill as many people” as possible.Benjamin Weiser, “Port Authority Bomber Is Sentenced to Life in Prison,” New York Times, April 22, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/22/nyregion/akayed-ullah-port-authority-pipe-bomb.html.

John Georgelas is an American convert to Islam who traveled to Syria to fight for ISIS in 2013 and became “the most important and prominent American” in the group, according to Graeme Wood, writing for the Atlantic.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/; Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS: An Update,” Atlantic, December 16, 2016, https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/12/american-leader-islamic-state-update/510998/. Before joining ISIS, he amassed a following from his extensive scholarly writings on jihadist subjects, which he published online. Reportedly close to members of ISIS’s leadership, including former ISIS spokesperson Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, Georgelas allegedly pushed ISIS to declare a caliphate in 2014. Since then, he has become ISIS’s “leading producer of high-end English-language propaganda,” according to the Atlantic, appearing on the group’s Al Bayan radio station and contributing to its English-language magazines, Dabiq and Rumiyah.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

Georgelas was born in December 1983 to an upper-middle-class family in Plano, Texas, although his family moved several times during his childhood because of his father’s military assignments. At eleven years old, he reportedly became interested in religion and joined the Greek Orthodox Church. According to his family, he was a troublemaker in school and drug user. His academic performance was poor, although he graduated from high school and briefly attended community college.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

In November 2001, Georgelas converted to Islam and adopted the name Yahya. One month later, he traveled to Damascus, Syria, to study Arabic. While there, he met some British Muslims who introduced him to jihadism.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/. In March 2003, Georgelas flew to London to meet a Muslim woman named Tania Choudhury with whom he had been communicating online.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/; Barbara Davies, “Has the British beauty who fled her ISIS leader husband for Texas REALLY cut all ties with one of the world's most wanted terrorists?” Daily Mail (London), January 13, 2017, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4118570/Has-British-beauty-fled-ISIS-leader-husband-Texas-REALLY-cut-ties-one-world-s-wanted-terrorists.html. They married days later and settled together in College Station, Texas. The couple also spent time living in Syria, London, and California, throughout the following year. During this time, Georgelas became obsessed with studying and writing about Islamic history, theology, and jihad.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

Georgelas and his wife moved from California back to Texas, where he began working as a data technician at Rackspace. In his spare time, he reportedly frequented jihadist forums online. Around 2006, he reportedly intended to travel to Iraq to wage jihad against American forces, but these plans were thwarted after he attempted to hack the website of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee—a client of Rackspace—on April 8, 2006.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.  The FBI arrested Georgelas on April 14 for intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 34 months in prison in August.“Former Data Technician at Local Internet Hosting Company and Self-Admitted Supporter of Pro-Jihad Website Sentenced to 34 Months for Attempting to Cause Damage to a Protected Computer,” U.S. Department of Justice, August 15, 2006, https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/txn/PressRel06/georgelas_john_sen_pr.html; Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

Following his release from prison, Georgelas remained under parole until October 2011 and worked as an IT specialist. After his parole expired, he moved to Cairo, Egypt, with his wife and children, where he made a living translating the fatwas of Qatari religious scholars. Georgelas began to amass a global following of extremists who admired his scholarly work, which he promoted online. He operated a website focused on Dhahirism––a semi-obscure literalist form of Islam––where he regularly published his own and others’ extremist rhetoric and held online seminars. According to an acquaintance, he was one of the strongest “pre-ISIS pro-caliphate voices.”Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

In August 2013, Georgelas moved his wife and children to Azaz, Syria, in the midst of the country’s civil war. After a month, his family left Georgelas permanently to return to the United States. Following their departure, Georgelas trained with an ISIS-affiliated group near Aleppo, then participated in combat. However, he was severely injured by a mortar blast in April 2014, which left him unable to walk for some time. While recovering, Georgelas continued to update his website and became active on social media, where he posted pro-ISIS content. Georgelas was reportedly close with members of ISIS’s leadership, including former spokesperson and second-highest ranking ISIS leader Abu Muhammad al-Adnani. Georgelas reportedly pressed Adnani to pressure ISIS emir Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to declare a caliphate. Once ISIS publicly declared its caliphate in June 2014, Georgelas pledged his allegiance to Baghdadi.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

Georgelas was taken prisoner by the Free Syrian Army, but was eventually released after he reportedly feigned cooperation. In 2015, he traveled to ISIS’s de facto capital of Raqqa, where he was accepted as a scholar and spokesman for the group. Georgelas was first heard on ISIS’s Al Bayan radio station in December 2015, and in April 2016, wrote an article titled “Kill the Imams of Kufr [Disbelief] in the West” for ISIS’s English-language propaganda magazine, Dabiq.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.  Georgelas has since written extensively for both Dabiq and its successor, Rumiyah.

In December 2016, four months after Adnani was killed in a drone strike, ISIS named its new spokesperson as “Abu al-Hassan al-Mujahir”––a name similar to a known alias of Georgelas’s, Abu Hassan al-Mujahir. Although the Atlantic speculated that Georgelas might be the new spokesperson, there has been no further evidence to suggest this possibility. Nonetheless, the Atlantic asserts that Georgelas remains the “most important and prominent American” in ISIS.Graeme Wood, “The American Climbing the Ranks of ISIS,” Atlantic, updated January 25, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/03/the-american-leader-in-the-islamic-state/510872/.

Terry Nichols was a conspirator in the deadliest homegrown terror attack in U.S. history––the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The attack, which took place on April 19, 1995, left 168 people dead and more than 500 others wounded.“Oklahoma City Bombing,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, accessed September 26, 2017, https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing;
“Oklahoma City Bombing Fast Facts,” CNN, March 29, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html. Nichols helped the bomber, Timothy McVeigh, acquire materials and construct the bomb that would be used in the attack.“McVeigh Chronology,” PBS, accessed September 26, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/documents/mcveigh/mcveigh2.html;
“McVeigh eats final formal meal before execution,” CNN, June 11, 2001, http://edition.cnn.com/2001/LAW/06/10/mcveigh/. Nichols was convicted on charges of conspiracy and involuntary manslaughter in federal court and 161 counts of murder in Oklahoma state court, and was accordingly sentenced to a life in prison.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html. He was placed in the United States’ highest security prison, the Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado, to serve his life sentence.Mark Binelli, “Inside America’s Toughest Federal Prison,” New York Times, March 26, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/magazine/inside-americas-toughest-federal-prison.html.

Nichols was born on a farm in Lapeer, Michigan. He graduated high school and attended Central Michigan University for one semester before dropping out and returning home to help on the family farm. He married in 1981 and had a son the following year. Nichols tried various paths of work, finally joining the U.S. Army in May of 1988.Sandy Shore, “Nichols Called Drifter, Devoted Dad,” Washington Post, September 21, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/tn-drifter.htm. He underwent basic training in Georgia, where he first met Timothy McVeigh, who he would later help carry out the Oklahoma City attack.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html. The two struck up a close relationship founded on their shared conservative, anti-government views.Sandy Shore, “Nichols Called Drifter, Devoted Dad,” Washington Post, September 21, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/tn-drifter.htm.

Nichols was granted a discharge from the Army to take care of his son after his wife divorced him in October of 1988.Sandy Shore, “Nichols Called Drifter, Devoted Dad,” Washington Post, September 21, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/tn-drifter.htm. He married again soon after to a mail-order bride from the Philippines, and they had two children together.Sandy Shore, “Nichols Called Drifter, Devoted Dad,” Washington Post, September 21, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/tn-drifter.htm;
“Key Players: The Accused,” Fox News, June 11, 2001, https://web.archive.org/web/20080414002057/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,26782,00.html. In 1992, Nichols tried to renounce his American citizenship, claiming that he was a “non-resident alien” rather than a “citizen of the corrupt political corporate state of Michigan and the United States of America.”“Key Players: The Accused,” Fox News, June 11, 2001, https://web.archive.org/web/20080414002057/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,26782,00.html. He continued his friendship with McVeigh, who reportedly stayed with Nichols at his home in Michigan on separate occasions in 1992 and 1993.“Timothy McVeigh,” CNN, March 29, 2001, http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/03/29/profile.mcveigh/index.html;
Dale Russakoff and Serge F. Kovalevski, “An Ordinary Boy’s Extraordinary Rage,” Washington Post, July 2, 1995, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/bg/mcveigh.htm. In 1994, Nichols began working at a Kansas farmhouse, but quit months later to start a business with McVeigh selling guns and military gear.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html. Similarly to McVeigh, Nichols shared an affinity for guns and viewed the government as a threat.“From decorated veteran to mass murderer,” CNN, 2001, http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/mcveigh/profile.html.

After McVeigh decided to take violent action against the government, Nichols assisted him in constructing the bomb for the Oklahoma City attack. The two worked out of Kansas during the fall of 1994, where they rented a storage locker.“McVeigh Chronology,” PBS, accessed September 26, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/documents/mcveigh/mcveigh2.html. They reportedly robbed an arms dealer at gunpoint for funds, purchased the bomb’s key ingredients––fertilizer and ammonium nitrate, and stole other explosives and materials to construct the 5,000-pound bomb.“McVeigh Chronology,” PBS, accessed September 26, 2017, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/documents/mcveigh/mcveigh2.html;
“McVeigh eats final formal meal before execution,” CNN, June 11, 2001, http://edition.cnn.com/2001/LAW/06/10/mcveigh/;
“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html;
Andrew Gumbel, “Oklahoma City bombing: 20 years later, key questions remain unanswered,” Guardian (London), April 13, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/apr/13/oklahoma-city-bombing-20-years-later-key-questions-remain-unanswered. In November of 1994, Nichols traveled to the Philippines to see his wife. Before his departure, he reportedly gave his ex-wife in the United States letters to give to McVeigh on the condition that he did not return in two months.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html;
Tom Kenworthy, “Ex-Wife Describes Nichols’s Letters, Defendant Moved to Tears,” Washington Post, November 20, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/nichols1120.htm. In these letters, which were later revealed in court proceedings, Nichols wrote “your [sic] on your own, go for it.”Tom Kenworthy, “Ex-Wife Describes Nichols’s Letters, Defendant Moved to Tears,” Washington Post, November 20, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/nichols1120.htm. However, Nichols returned to the United States in January 1995.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html.

On April 18, 1995, the day before the attack, Nichols and McVeigh assembled the bomb in the back of a rented Ryder truck at Geary Lake Start Park in Kansas.“Oklahoma City Bombing Timeline, 1994-2005,” Fox News, April 13, 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/04/13/oklahoma-city-bombingtimeline-14-2005.html. On the morning of April 19, 1995, McVeigh drove the truck containing the bomb to the front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. McVeigh parked the truck, ignited the fuse, and departed in a second vehicle. The bomb exploded at 9:02 a.m., blasting apart a third of the building and damaging more than 300 neighboring buildings. In the deadliest homegrown terror attack in U.S. history, the explosion killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured more than 500 others.“Oklahoma City Bombing,” Federal Bureau of Investigation, accessed September 26, 2017, https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/oklahoma-city-bombing;
“Oklahoma City Bombing Fast Facts,” CNN, March 29, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/18/us/oklahoma-city-bombing-fast-facts/index.html.

Authorities were ultimately able to identify the suspects by the identification number on one of the axles of the Ryder truck found at the site of the explosion.Hailey Branson-Potts, “After Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh’s arrest almost went unnoticed,” Los Angeles Times, April 19, 2015, http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-oklahoma-city-bombing-20150419-story.html. Nichols turned himself in to police in Herington, Kansas, on April 21, after he learned that authorities were searching for him. He was charged for his involvement in the attack less than three weeks later, on May 10. Nichols’s brother James was also arrested at the same time on suspicion of being a material witness, but he was released without charge. On August 10, Nichols was indicted on charges of murder and conspiracy. In 1996, the case was moved to Colorado, and Nichols transferred to a prison there.“Oklahoma City Bombing Timeline, 1994-2005,” Fox News, April 13, 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/04/13/oklahoma-city-bombingtimeline-14-2005.html.

Nichols’s federal trial began in November of 1997. On December 24, he was convicted on one count of conspiracy and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter after the jury rejected first-degree murder charges.“Oklahoma City Bombing Timeline, 1994-2005,” Fox News, April 13, 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/04/13/oklahoma-city-bombingtimeline-14-2005.html;
Lois Romano and Tom Kenworthy, “Nichols Guilty of Conspiracy, Manslaughter,” Washington Post, December 24, 1997, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/oklahoma/stories/nichols1224.htm. Prosecutors sought the death penalty, but Nichols was ultimately spared from it owing to a deadlocked jury.“Oklahoma City Bombing Timeline, 1994-2005,” Fox News, April 13, 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/04/13/oklahoma-city-bombingtimeline-14-2005.html. On June 4, 1998, Nichols was sentenced to life in prison.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html.

In addition to his federal trial, Nichols also underwent a state trial in Oklahoma, which began on March 22, 2004. On May 26, he was convicted of 161 counts of murder. Once again, the jury was deadlocked on the possibility of the death penalty as a sentence, so Nichols was again sentenced to a life in prison without the possibility of parole.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html. Nichols was placed in a maximum-security prison in Florence, Colorado, to serve his life sentence.Mark Binelli, “Inside America’s Toughest Federal Prison,” New York Times, March 26, 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/29/magazine/inside-americas-toughest-federal-prison.html.

On April 1, 2005, upon searching Nichols’ former home, the FBI announced that they found explosives and other bomb-making materials that they had missed during their previous searches.“Oklahoma City Bombing Timeline, 1994-2005,” Fox News, April 13, 2005, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/04/13/oklahoma-city-bombingtimeline-14-2005.html. Authorities were tipped off by Gregory Scarpa Jr., a fellow inmate at Nichols’s maximum-security prison in Colorado. Nichols reportedly revealed to Scarpa that there were still hidden explosives that the FBI had not found after Scarpa befriended him in the hope of learning more about the Oklahoma City attack.Nolan Clay, “Mobster must serve full sentence despite OKC bombing revelation,” Oklahoma City News, August 19, 2017, http://newsok.com/article/5560787. However, the discovery did not lead to any legal changes in Nichols’s case.Lloyd Vries, “Discovery Linked to Okla. Bombing,” CBS News, April 1, 2005, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/discovery-linked-to-okla-bombing/.

In 2011, it was revealed that Nichols had been corresponding with a woman named Jannie Coverdale, who lost two grandchildren in the Oklahoma City bombing.“Terry Nichols Fast Facts,” CNN, March 23, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/25/us/terry-nichols-fast-facts/index.html. In the letters, he expressed remorse and claimed that he had believed that McVeigh would use the bomb to destroy “some type of monument, bridge, or similar structure,” rather than an occupied building.Kris Gutierrez, “Oklahoma City Bombing Co-Conspirator Reaches Out to Victims in letters,” Fox News, November 29, 2011, http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/11/29/oklahoma-city-bombing-co-conspirator-reaches-out-to-victims-in-letters.html;
Nolan Clay, “Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichol writes he ‘grieves daily,’” NewsOK, November 28, 2011, http://newsok.com/article/3627242;
“Oklahoma City co-conspirator grieves daily,” United Press International, November 28, 2011, https://www.upi.com/Oklahoma-City-co-conspirator-grieves-daily/26991322502229/.