White Supremacists Discussed Where to Open Fire at Richmond Gun Rally

Law enforcement officials detailed plans from “the Base” to sow chaos at Monday’s rally against gun safety legislation.

The white supremacists arrested ahead of next week’s anti-gun safety law rally in Richmond discussed opening fire from four locations at the Capitol building, according to law enforcement officials.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the men, who were arrested in Maryland and Delaware on Monday, made this plan “in the hopes of causing chaos.”

Three other men linked to the same white-supremacist group, called “the Base,” were also arrested in Georgia this week. The Floyd County police department said the Georgia men were plotting to kill a couple.

The group has a “paramilitary training camp” in Silver Creek, Georgia, according to the Journal, and recruits members online. According to court documents, the Base was founded in 2018 and calls for its members to train for “violent insurgency” against targets including the U.S. government.

Earlier this week, Gov. Ralph Northam issued a temporary state of emergency after news of credible threats at Monday’s rally, which allowed him to ban guns on state Capitol grounds. Groups who are fighting proposed gun safety legislation from Democrats sued to overturn the governor’s order, but a judge upheld the ban. The gun groups are petitioning the state Supreme Court.