Transnational terrorist organizations use Telegram to incite hate crimes

Direct translation

U.S. Department of Justice: Transnational terrorist organizations use Telegram to incite hate crimes

Reporter : Wang Junyi / Editor : Li Muen /  https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/24/9/10/n14327344.htm / Image : On 5 December 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice sealed the U.S. Department of Justice at the podium of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

On Monday (10 September 2024), the U.S. Department of Justice announced that two leaders of the transnational terrorist organization Terrorgram Collective were accused of using the social media platform Telegram to incite hate crimes and violence against minorities, government officials, critical infrastructure, etc. in the United States.

Dallas Humber, 34, from Elk Grove, California, and Matthew Allison, 37, from Boise, Idaho, was arrested o 6 September.

The two defendants face 15 federal charges in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California, including inciting hate crimes and murdering federal officials, disseminating bomb-making instructions and conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

The cases include the stabbing of five people outside a Turkish mosque last month and the arrest of an 18-year-old in July for plotting an attack on a power substation.

The indictment accuses the two of opening and operating Telegram channels and group chat network Terrorgram, where they recruited followers and attackers, provided instructions and guidance to commit crimes, and provided "high-value" target lists for attacks and assassinations.

The lists include U.S. federal, state and local officials, as well as leaders of private companies and non-governmental organizations, many of whom have been targeted based on race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation and more.

The indictment stated that the two produced and disseminated a number of videos and publications abetting terrorist crimes, including a 24-minute documentary "White Terror", which recorded and glorified approximately 105 incidents of white terror between 1968 and 2021 and supremacist violence.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at a press conference: "Today's arrests are a warning: There is no hiding place for committing hate crimes in the darkest corners of the Internet, and there is no hiding place for inciting terrorist attacks behind a screen. There will be no protection. The U.S. Department of Justice will find you and we will hold you accountable."

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division said the defendants "conspired to provide material support and incite attacks against federal officials and critical government infrastructure, including federal buildings and energy facilities. Today's "The charges demonstrate the Department of Justice's determination to use every tool at its disposal to counter threats from violent extremists and protect the safety of the American people."

Telegram spokesperson Remi Vaughn said: "Incitement to violence is not allowed on the Telegram platform. A few years ago, Telegram removed multiple channels after discovering variations of the name 'Terrorgram'. Once similar content it appears, it will be banned.”

Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities last month on charges of allowing the platform to be used for criminal activities. Durov responded to the accusation in a post last week, saying he personally should not have been the target of the accusation and pledging to step up efforts to combat criminal activity on the app.

He wrote that while Telegram was not "some kind of anarchist paradise," the surge in user numbers "is creating more and more trouble and makes it easier for criminals to abuse our platform."

(This article refers to relevant reports from the Associated Press)