Patrick Eugene Stein

Patrick Eugene Stein is an American convicted of plotting to bomb an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, where Muslims from Somalia lived and worshipped.Roxana Hegeman, “Militia members get decades in prison in Kansas bomb plot,” Star Tribune, January 25, 2019, http://www.startribune.com/3-militia-members-face-sentencing-in-kansas-bomb-plot/504848242/. Following an 8-month-long FBI investigation, Stein was arrested on October 14, 2016 and charged with one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.“Three Southwest Kansas Men Charged With Plotting to Bomb Somali Immigrants,” Department of Justice, October 14, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/three-southwest-kansas-men-charged-plotting-bomb-somali-immigrants. He and two-conspirators were also later charged with one count of conspiracy against rights. The U.S. Department of Justice considers the charge a hate crime because Stein sought to interfere with residents’ rights due to their race, national origin, and religion.Mitch Smith, “Racist Terror Plot, or Just Idle Talk? Kansas Trial Hinges on the Answer,” New York Times, April 16, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/us/kansas-militia-somali-bomb-plot.html. On January 25, 2019, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren sentenced Stein to 30 years in prison for the plot and 10 years for conspiracy against rights.Roxana Hegeman, “Militia members get decades in prison in Kansas bomb plot,” Star Tribune, January 25, 2019, http://www.startribune.com/3-militia-members-face-sentencing-in-kansas-bomb-plot/504848242/.

Stein and his co-conspirators, Curtis Wayne Allen and Gavin Wayne Wright, called themselves “the Crusaders,” of which Stein allegedly served as ringleader.Roxana Hegeman, “Militia members get decades in prison in Kansas bomb plot,” Star Tribune, January 25, 2019, http://www.startribune.com/3-militia-members-face-sentencing-in-kansas-bomb-plot/504848242/. The group’s members espoused sovereign citizen, anti-government, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant extremist beliefs.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 2, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download. The Crusaders were reportedly a subgroup of the anti-government militia Kansas Security Forces (KSF).Oliver Laughland, “Kansas town reels months after foiled mosque bombing: ‘I’m still scared’,” Guardian, February 22, 201, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/22/kansas-mosque-bomb-plot-muslims-hate-groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the KSF shares its name with a larger anti-government coalition called the Three Percent Security Force, which claims to have chapters in several states.Stephen Piggott, “3 Men Arrested in Plot to Bomb Kansas Apartment Complex, Mosque Following Election,” Southern Poverty Law Center, October 14, 2016, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/10/14/3-men-arrested-plot-bomb-kansas-apartment-complex-mosque-following-presidential-election. During the trial of Allen, Stein, and Wright, members of KSF testified that they believed the three men were too extreme.Christopher Mathias and Ryan J. Reilly, “These Pro-Trump Extremists Had a Plan To Kill Muslims. How Were They Radicalized?,” Huffington Post, April 18, 2018, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/domestic-terrorism-trial-kansas-trump-militia_n_5ad4e700e4b0edca2cbcb603. The FBI informant said other militia members did not want to join the plot because they believed it would result in everyone “thrown in jail and give militias a bad name.”“Accused Terrorists Were So Extreme They Scared Other Anti-Muslim Bigots,” Huffington Post, March 31, 2018, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kansas-terror-plot-militia_n_5abd0e8ce4b03e2a5c7a53c9?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004.

According to an FBI affidavit, Stein and members of the KSF maintained daily contact over Zello, a mobile app that simulates a push-to-talk walkie-talkie function.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Affidavit in Support of Application for the First Extension of a Mobile Tracker, (D. Kan. 2016), 3 https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/kansas-affidavit-extended.pdf. A Twitter account known as American Patriot was reportedly linked to Stein and shared anti-Muslim content.Christopher Mathias and Ryan J. Reilly, “These Pro-Trump Extremists Had a Plan To Kill Muslims. How Were They Radicalized?,” Huffington Post, April 18, 2018, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/domestic-terrorism-trial-kansas-trump-militia_n_5ad4e700e4b0edca2cbcb603.

Stein may have been inspired in part by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. He discussed the 1995 attack with a confidential FBI source, and expressed interest in the explosives used to bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 5, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download. Stein may have also been motivated by the death of Robert “LaVoy” Finicum, a leader in the anti-government occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon. Police shot Finicum on January 26, 2016 as he was reaching for his handgun, and when discussing the incident during a meeting of a few KSF members in June 2016, Stein states that “no patriot fired a shot in response to the killing of Lavoy Finicum.”Stephen Piggott, “3 Men Arrested in Plot to Bomb Kansas Apartment Complex, Mosque Following Election,” Southern Poverty Law Center, October 14, 2016, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/10/14/3-men-arrested-plot-bomb-kansas-apartment-complex-mosque-following-presidential-election; “In the Aftermath of LaVoy Finnicum’s Death, Growing Number of Rallies Push Martyrdom Narrative,” Southern Poverty Law Center, May 2, 2016, https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2016/05/03/aftermath-lavoy-finicums-death-growing-number-rallies-push-martyrdom-narrative; United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Affidavit in Support of Application for the First Extension of a Mobile Tracker, (D. Kan. 2016), 3 https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/kansas-affidavit-extended.pdf.

In June 2016, Stein convened a meeting with the Crusaders and discussed the need to respond to the June 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The next month, the three co-conspirators and a confidential FBI source met at G&G Mobile Home Center, a business owned by Wright and where Allen worked.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 6, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download. During the meeting, Stein and Allen suggested various targets for an attack, including Muslim-occupied residences and places of worship, city or county commission meetings, public officials, landlords leasing property to Muslims, and organizations providing aid to Muslim refugees.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 7-8, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download.

The three men eventually settled on a plot to attack an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, where most of the 120 residents are Muslims from Somalia.Reuters, “Kansas men aimed to kill as many Somalis as possible in terror plot, prosecutor says,” Guardian, April 17, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/17/kansas-terror-plot-men-kill-somalian-muslims-hate-court-claims. The complex served as a hub for the Somali community and one of the apartments was used as a makeshift mosque.Mitch Smith, “Racist Terror Plot, or Just Idle Talk? Kansas Trial Hinges on the Answer,” New York Times, April 16, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/16/us/kansas-militia-somali-bomb-plot.html. Stein, Allen, and Wright began to stockpile weapons and supplies for explosives. They surveilled the apartment complex and planned to blow it up while residents were praying.Christopher Mathias and Ryan J. Reilly, “These Pro-Trump Extremists Had a Plan To Kill Muslims. How Were They Radicalized?,” Huffington Post, April 18, 2018, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/domestic-terrorism-trial-kansas-trump-militia_n_5ad4e700e4b0edca2cbcb603.

During the course of the FBI’s investigation, Stein was introduced to an undercover agent who pretended to be able to provide automatic weapons and components for explosive devices to the group.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 9, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download. On October 12, 2016, Stein met with the undercover agent at a rural location in Finney County, Kansas, and tested automatic weapons. Stein then inquired about the prices for those weapons and discussed trading drugs for explosives.United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 10, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download. Stein also stated that he and his co-conspirators already had ammonium nitrate for a bomb and would be able to contribute between $200 and $300 for other materials.“Three Southwest Kansas Men Charged With Plotting to Bomb Somali Immigrants,” Department of Justice, October 14, 2016, https://www.justice.gov/usao-ks/pr/three-southwest-kansas-men-charged-plotting-bomb-somali-immigrants. He told the agent that Wright and Allen had previously mixed explosives at G&G Mobile Home Center. Stein also brought the undercover agent to the location of the Garden City apartment complex, which he described as “full of goddamn cockroaches.”United States of America v. Curtis Wayne Allen, Patrick Eugene Stein, and Gavin Wayne Wright, Criminal Complaint, (D. Kan. 2016), 10, https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/903106/download.

During his sentencing hearing on January 25, 2019, Stein apologized only to his family and friends but showed no remorse for the bomb plot.Roxana Hegeman, “Militia members get decades in prison in Kansas bomb plot,” Star Tribune, January 25, 2019, http://www.startribune.com/3-militia-members-face-sentencing-in-kansas-bomb-plot/504848242/. On January 25, 2019, Stein was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and 10 years for conspiracy against rights, to be served simultaneously.Roxana Hegeman, “Militia members get decades in prison in Kansas bomb plot,” Star Tribune, January 25, 2019, http://www.startribune.com/3-militia-members-face-sentencing-in-kansas-bomb-plot/504848242/.

Also Known As

Extremist entity
Crusaders
Type(s) of Organization:
Militia group
Ideologies and Affiliations:
Anti-government, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, sovereign citizen
Position(s):
Ringleader, attempted bomber

  • Rhetoric
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Extremists: Their Words. Their Actions.

In Their Own Words:

We reiterate once again that the brigades will directly target US bases across the region in case the US enemy commits a folly and decides to strike our resistance fighters and their camps [in Iraq].

Abu Ali al-Askari, Kata’ib Hezbollah (KH) Security Official Mar. 2023
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