'What does this have to do with the alt right? These people are planning a protest to protect their 2nd Amendment rights.'
I imagine that is the prime motivation for some of them. Others, not so much.
'Days before Virginia gun rally, FBI arrests 3 alleged white supremacists'
Three suspected members of a white supremacist group face federal charges after the FBI apprehended them days before a gun rights rally in Virginia’s capital next week, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
The suspects are allegedly part of a fringe group known as The Base, and law enforcement officials say the timing of their arrests is related to the event in Richmond, which the men planned to attend. On Wednesday, Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency after receiving "credible intelligence" that armed militias and hate groups are expected to be present — increasing the potential for civil unrest at a gathering expected to draw thousands.
Law enforcement officials say the men have been under FBI surveillance for months, and agents made their move since Monday is also a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
Two of the suspects — Brian Lemley, Jr., 33, of Elkton, Maryland, and Newark, Delaware; and William Bilbrough IV, 19, of Denton, Maryland — were charged with transporting and harboring aliens and conspiring to do so, according to the complaint. In addition, Lemley was charged with transporting a machine gun and disposing of a firearm and ammunition to an alien unlawfully present in the United States.
That person was identified as Canadian national Patrik Mathews, 27, allegedly a main recruiter for The Base. He was charged with being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He and Lemley were also charged with transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony.
According to the complaint, Mathews, a combat engineer in the Canadian Army Reserve, illegally crossed into the United States last August near the Manitoba-Minnesota border.
Several days later, Lemley and Bilbrough drove from Maryland to Michigan, where Mathews was hiding out, and brought him to Maryland, officials said. In early November, Mathews and Lemley rented an apartment in Delaware.
The next month, the pair constructed a functioning assault rifle, according to the affidavit.
"Oh oops, it looks like I accidentally made a machine gun," Lemley allegedly said, adding that he was worried about the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives showing up.
All three men also attempted to manufacture a hallucinogen known as DMT inside the apartment, the complaint said. At the time, the men allegedly spoke about The Base, its activities and membership.
The men continued to build up their supplies and training, according to the complaint, with Lemley and Mathews buying 1,650 rounds of ammunition this month, using the assault rifle at a Maryland gun range and retrieving vests for body armor.