In 2019, a Canadian neo Nazi recruited people to join The Base, a white supremacist group.
On Thursday, Patrik Mathews was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and Brian Lemley Jr., a US Army veteran, were sentenced.
Mathews, Lemley and others were detained in January 2020 after plotting to attack Virginia's State Capitol.
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According to the Associated Press, a Canadian neo Nazi was sentenced to nine years in prison for plotting US civil war.
On Thursday, Brian Lemley Jr., a veteran of the US Army and Patrik Mathews, a Canadian Armed Forces reservist were sentenced.
NBC News reported that FBI agents had arrested Mathews and Lemley from a fringe neo Nazi group called The Base. This was just days before a Virginia pro-gun rally in January 2020.
According to NBC, the FBI stated that they had been under surveillance for several months at the time.
The Associated Press reported that surveillance equipment installed in Mathews' apartment in Delaware captured Mathews, Lemley and other members discussing an attack against the Virginia State Capitol.
According to The New York Times, Mathews was a major recruiter at The Base and crossed into the USA without proper documentation. After learning of his connections to white supremacists, he was fired from the Canadian Army.
The Counter Extremism Project is an organization that tracks far right extremists. The Base trains members to fight in a race conflict and encourages the "onset anarchy" so it can then impose order.
Lemley was also charged with conspiring to transport and harbor aliens, as well as other charges. Mathews was also charged with being an alien possessing a firearm or ammunition. Both were charged with transporting firearms to commit a crime.
The AP reported that US District Judge Theodore Chuang applied a "terrorism enhance" to Mathews' and Lemeleys' charges in order to increase their recommended prison sentences. He did this after concluding that the defendants planned to engage terrorist activity. Chuang stated that the conversations recorded were more than just talk between friends. They also showed the defendant's willingness and ability to attack the US.
Law and Crime reported that attorneys for Mathews and Lemley wanted a 33-month sentence. However, prosecutors requested a 25 year sentence.
According to Mathews' lawyers, the court filing showed that the conversations were only "generally fleeting" and did not show any serious exploration of specific targets or planning operations.
According to the AP, Mathews was referred by Prosecutors as "domestic terrorists".
"Hoping for civil war that would decimate ethnic and racial minorities and subjugate females, the defendants joined hands with others, studied violence and tested their weapons skills, and stockpiled munitions and supplies in pursuit of their goals," Law and Crime reported.
According to the AP, Mathews said that he regretted being friends with "the wrong people."
He told the judge that he was involved with extreme people, which he described as "very extreme" and "hateful to the point where they took action."
The AP reported that Lemely also said to the judge that he regretted his actions.
According to Lemely, "The things that I said were horrible and don’t reflect who or what my family raised me to believe,” Lemely stated to the AP. "Murder wasn't in my heart. Only foolish dreams of war glory, and valor are possible."
