WASHINGTON (AP) — 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.
The defendants, identified as Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison, face 15 federal counts in the Eastern District of California, including charges that accuse them of soliciting hate crimes and the murder of federal officials, distributing bombmaking instructions and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.
Humber, 34, of Elk Grove, California, and Allison, 37, of Boise, Idaho were arrested Friday. Humber pleaded not guilty in a Sacramento courtroom Monday to the charges. Her attorney Noa Oren declined to comment on the case Monday afternoon after the arraignment.
It was not immediately clear if Allison had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The indictment accuses the two of leading Terrorgram, a network of channels and group chats on Telegram, and of soliciting followers to attack perceived enemies of white people, government buildings, energy facilities and “high-value” targets such as politicians.
“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.
The pair's exhortations to commit violence included statements such as “Take Action Now” and “Do your part,” and users who carried out acts to further white supremacism were told they could become known as “Saints,” prosecutors said.
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.
Those include the stabbing last month of five people outside a mosque in Turkey and the July arrest of an 18-year-old accused of planning to attack an electrical substation to advance white supremacist views. In the Turkey attack, for instance, prosecutors say the culprit on the morning of the stabbing posted in a group chat: “Come see how much humans I can cleanse.”
A 24-minute documentary that the two had produced, “White Terror," documented and praised some 105 acts of white supremacist violence between 1968 and 2021, according to the indictment.
“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. He added, “Their reach is as far as the internet because of the platform they’ve created.”
Telegram spokesman Remi Vaughn said: “Calls to violence have no place on Telegram’s platform. Moderators removed several channels that used variations of the ‘Terrorgram’ name when they were discovered years ago. Similar content is banned whenever it appears.”
Telegram is a messaging app that allows for one-on-one conversations, group chats and large “channels” that let people broadcast messages to subscribers. Though broadly used as a messaging tool around the world, Telegram has also drawn scrutiny, including a finding from French investigators that the app has been used by Islamic extremists and drug traffickers.
Telegram's founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, was detained by French authorities last month on charges of allowing the platform’s use for criminal activity. Durov responded to the charges with a post last week saying he shouldn’t have been targeted personally and by promising to step up efforts to fight criminality on the app.
He wrote that while Telegram is not “some sort of anarchic paradise,” surging numbers of users have “caused growing pains that made it easier for criminals to abuse our platform.”
Associated Press reporter Trân Nguyễn contributed from Sacramento, California.
FILE - The Department of Justice seals is seen during a news conference at the DOJ office in Washington, May 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Saquon Barkley had at least a first down, maybe even a touchdown, in his grasp that would have sealed the Eagles' win in their home opener.
Barkley instead bobbled a reception and couldn't hold on to Jalen Hurts' short pass. It was one giant drop on third down at Atlanta's 10-yard line with 1:46 left in the game that stopped the clock late and forced the Eagles to settle for a field goal.
Barkley's botch was the opening the Atlanta Falcons needed to pull off the stunner with the kind of flawless drive the Eagles couldn't duplicate. Kirk Cousins capped the winning drive with a touchdown pass to Drake London and Atlanta stunned Philadelphia 22-21 in its home opener on Monday night.
“I dropped the ball,” Barkley said plainly. “Let my team down today. Shouldn’t have put the defense in that position. If I make the catch, game’s over."
Barkley and Hurts, who had put the Eagles ahead 18-15 on a 1-yard tush-push touchdown in the fourth, had a brief postgame conversation in the locker room.
The message was simple: Hurts still had Barkley's back.
“He's going to trust me every time in that situation,” Barkley said.
After Barkley's drop, Jake Elliott kicked a 28-yard field goal rather than the Eagles going for the score on fourth down.
“We wanted to go up six points. It didn't work,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I wanted them to be down and touchdown and see if they could drive the field. And they did.”
With a three-year deal for $26 million guaranteed, Barkley is the highest-paid running back in franchise history. The 27-year-old former New York Giant did have a knack for dropping the ball when he played for the NFC East rival.
“I trust him every day of the week to make a play,” Hurts said. “Just like everybody else. We'll be better for it.”
Maybe next time, the Eagles will simply trust Barkley enough to just rush for the first down.
Even after London torched cornerback Darius Slay and scored, the Eagles still had 34 seconds to at least drive into field goal territory for Elliott. Hurts instead had his pass picked off by Jessie Bates III that ended all hope of Philadelphia's own amazing comeback.
“The intent of that play was to go down the field,” Sirianni said. “He took a chance and the guy made a good play.”
Much like Barkley, Slay took the heat for the loss after he let London beat him for the winning TD.
“That’s on me Philly!! I owe yall one. DAMN!!!!!” Slay wrote on social media.
A year after a 10-1 start, the Eagles are already 1-1 with games against undefeated teams New Orleans and Tampa Bay on deck.
Barkley ran for 95 yards in his home debut at week after a week after he rushed for 109 yards and scored three touchdowns against Green Bay. Eagles fans booed when the opening drive of the game ended without Barkley touching the ball. Led by Hollywood star Bradley Cooper, Eagles fans went wild when he had consecutive 9-yard runs to open the second drive.
Barkley's steady success wouldn't stick.
The defense couldn't smother the long play against Cousins and the defense for all 60 minutes.
Under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the Eagles established an early knack for allowing long drives that end with three points instead of seven. Atlanta's Younghoe Koo kicked field goals of 39, 22 and 34 yards, the last one enough for a 9-7 lead in the third quarter. In their opener, the Eagles held the Packers to just three field goals when they drove inside the 20.
Cousins, signed to a four-year, $180 million contract in the offseason, came alive in the second half. Cousins connected with Darnell Mooney on a 41-yard TD pass that gave Atlanta a 15-10 lead. Cousins later hit Mooney for 21 and 26 yards on consecutive plays during the decisive drive.
“We can be beat, especially if we don't take advantage of our opportunities,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said.
With No. 1 receiver A.J. Brown out with a hamstring injury, DeVonta Smith led the Eagles with seven catches for 76 yards and a score. Sirianni said he wasn't sure how long Brown would be out.
“Of course, he's definitely missed,” Hurts said. “It doesn't change the trust I have in everybody else to step up. We just didn't meet the moment. It wasn't for us tonight."
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Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (31) stops Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Former Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce sits on the NFL ESPN Monday Night Football before an NFL football game between the Eagles and the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni and Kellen Moore, offensive coordinator react to a two-point conversion by Eagles running back Saquon Barkley during the second half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) falls with the ball near Atlanta Falcons cornerback Clark Phillips III, bottom, and Atlanta Falcons defensive end James Smith-Williams during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) catches a pass in front of Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III (3) during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball under pressure from Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell (24) and Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III during the second half of an NFL football game on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
