Three Georgia men involved in a white supremacist group known as The Base have been arrested, the Floyd County Police Department announced Friday, one day after three other alleged group members were arrested in other parts of the country.
The men -- identified as Luke Austin Lane, 21; Michael John Helterbrand, 25; and Jacob Kaderli, 19 -- allegedly had plans to overthrow the government and kill a couple in Bartow County, police said in a news release. All three face charges of conspiracy to commit murder and participation in a criminal gang, The Base, police said.
"The group was involved in recruiting new members online, meeting to discuss strategy and practicing in paramilitary training camps on a 100-acre tract in Silver Creek," where the group allegedly had a "training camp," police said, citing their investigation with the FBI.
According to an affidavit, the three allegedly discussed "the creation of a white ethno-state" and "committing acts of violence against minority communities (including African-Americans and Jewish-Americans)" in encrypted online chat rooms.
The group is suspected of planning to kill a couple who they believed to be members of Antifa, the affidavit said. Lane allegedly concocted a plan to carry out with Helterbrand and Kaderli, but they delayed the scheme because Helterbrand had a bad back
These arrests occurred at the same time as a Wisconsin man was arrested Friday for conspiring with other members of The Base in September to vandalize minority-owned property.
Yousef O. Barasneh, 22, of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, is alleged to be a member of The Base and has been charged with conspiring to violate citizens' rights to use property free from threats and intimidation, according to a statement from the US attorney's office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
Barasneh allegedly vandalized the Beth Israeli Sinai Congregation in Racine, Wisconsin, by spray-painting swastikas and anti-Semitic words on the outside of the synagogue, the statement said.
If convicted of the charge, Barasneh faces up to 10 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines, the statement said.