Three Alleged Neo-Nazis Arrested By FBI Ahead Of Gun Rights Rally In Virginia

Three alleged Neo-Nazis were arrested at their residences in Maryland and Delaware early Thursday as they prepared to travel to Richmond, Virginia, with firearms to attend a gun rights protest opposing a new gun control measure proposed by Democrats in the Virginia Legislature.

The men were arrested by the FBI as part of an ongoing investigation in a white supremacist group known as the Base. They are reportedly facing several federal charges in Maryland and were to appear federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Justice Department said.

The Base is described by the Counter Extremism Project as “a neo-Nazi, white-supremacist network that describes itself as an “international survivalist and self-defense network,” seeking to train their members for fighting a "race war.” It is reportedly active across the U.S., Europe, Australia and South Africa and was allegedly started in 2018 by Norman Spear, aka Roman Wolf.

The three were identified as Patrik Jordan Mathews, 27, Brian M. Lemley Jr., 33, of Elkton, Maryland, and William G. Bilbrough IV, 19, of Newark, Delaware. Mathews was sharing Bilbrough's apartment, the FBI said.

Mathews is described as a main recruiter for the Base and had previously served in the Canadian army reserves. He reportedly was trained as a combat engineer and described as an explosives expert. However, he reportedly was discharged in August after his alleged ties to the white supremacist group emerged. Mathews went missing shortly after and is suspected of illegally entering the U.S.

The arrest warrant accuses Mathews and Lemley of transporting a firearm and ammo with intent to commit a crime. They allegedly were transporting 1,650 rounds of 5.56mm and 6.5mm ammunition and plate carriers for body armor.

Lemley and Bilbrough are accused of conspiring to transport and harbor aliens.

The FBI said Lemley and Mathews had built an assault rifle.

“Oh, oops, it looks like I accidentally made a machine gun,” an FBI affidavit quoted Lemley as saying. “I’m going to stow it here until next week, just in case the ATF [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] shows up tomorrow.” Mathews allegedly replied: “Um, if they show up here, we got other problems.”

The arrests come ahead of a gun rights rally planned for Richmond on Monday to protest a gun control bill under consideration in the Virginia Legislature. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency ahead of the protest and temporarily banned guns from state Capitol grounds.

Northam said authorities informed him of credible “threats of violence” at the rally from out-of-state militias and hate groups. The groups’ rhetoric reportedly is similar to threats made before the 2017 “Unite the Right” Charlottesville Rally that left three dead, most notably a counterprotestor who was run over by an alleged white supremacist.