2 charged with soliciting attacks on minorities, officials and infrastructure on Telegram
Associated PressWASHINGTON — Two people who prosecutors say were motivated by white supremacist ideology have been arrested on charges that they used the social media messaging app Telegram to encourage hate crimes and acts of violence against minorities, government officials and critical infrastructure in the United States, the Justice Department said Monday. “Today’s action makes clear that the department will hold perpetrators accountable, including those who hide behind computer screens, in seeking to carry out bias-motivated violence,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, the Justice Department’s top civil rights official, said at a news conference. Justice Department officials say Humber and Allison used the app to transmit bomb-making instructions and to distribute a list of potential targets for assassination — including a federal judge, a senator and a former U.S. attorney — and to celebrate acts or plots from active Terrorgram users. “The risk and danger they present is extremely serious,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department’s top national security official, said of Terrorgram users.