U.S Army private indicted for planning with Neo-Nazi group to ambush his own unit
If you listen to Donald Trump — something that it is HIGHLY inadvisable to do — the biggest menace that America faces these days is not the coronavirus that’s already killed over 120,000 people in this country, not the faltering economy caused by the president’s own horrific mismanagement of the pandemic, but the threat of the violent destruction of the American way of life that Trump claims is being planned by the nefarious forces of Antifa.
The only problem with Trump’s accusations against his strawman specter is the fact that no one in the intelligence or justice communities believes a word of it, particularly since ample evidence that anarchist violence is actually being fomented by right-wing extremist “Boogaloo” adherents.
Further proof that the threat from neo-Nazis and other extremist groups on the right is the most pressing security challenge facing our nation came today as the Justice Department announced the indictment of Ethan Melzer, a 22-year-old Army private from Louisville, Kentucky “for allegedly planning an attack on his U.S. Army unit by sending sensitive details about the unit – including information about its location, movements, and security – to members of an extremist organization named Order of the Nine Angles (O9A), an occult-based neo-Nazi and white supremacist group,” according to the department’s press release.
“Melzer is charged with conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. nationals, conspiring and attempting to murder military service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and conspiring to murder and maim in a foreign country. The FBI and the U.S. Army thwarted Melzer’s plot in late-May 2020, and the FBI arrested Melzer on June 10, 2020. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Gregory Woods,” the press release confirmed.
Once you’ve managed to wrap your brain around the concept that such a thing as “an occult-based neo-Nazi and white supremacist group” actually exists and clear the visions of witches and vampires dancing around a maypole while wearing swastikas from your mind, the enormity of the charges against Mr. Melzer become apparent.
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers explained it thusly:
“As the indictment lays out, Ethan Melzer plotted a deadly ambush on his fellow soldiers in the service of a diabolical cocktail of ideologies laced with hate and violence. Our women and men in uniform risk their lives for our country, but they should never face such peril at the hands of one of their own. The National Security Division is proud to support the efforts of those who disrupted this planned attack and to seek justice for these acts.”
The newly appointed Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss got to weight in on the indictment in one the first cases she’s led since she assumed her position in the wake of Attorney General Bill Barr’s Friday night massacre ousting her predecessor Geoffrey Berman.
“As alleged, Ethan Melzer, a private in the U.S. Army, was the enemy within. Melzer allegedly attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his own unit by unlawfully revealing its location, strength, and armaments to a neo-Nazi, anarchist, white supremacist group,” Strauss said. “Melzer allegedly provided this potentially deadly information intending that it be conveyed to jihadist terrorists. As alleged, Melzer was motivated by racism and hatred as he attempted to carry out this ultimate act of betrayal. Thanks to the efforts of the agents and detectives of the JTTF, our partners in the Departments of Defense and State, and the career prosecutors of this office, a hate-fueled terrorist attack against American soldiers has been thwarted.”
Further information was provided by Assistant Director Jill Sanborn of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division.
“As alleged, Ethan Melzer sought to facilitate a deadly mass attack on his fellow service members by disclosing sensitive information to multiple extremists, including al-Qa’ida. The FBI’s top priority remains protecting Americans from terrorist attacks, at home and abroad, and this case highlights the outstanding work of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Forces, along with our U.S. military partners, to identify and disrupt threats like this one against our men and women in uniform,” said Sanborn.
The newly unsealed indictment against Melzer delves into the details of the case.
Melzer joined the U.S. Army in approximately 2018, and he joined O9A by approximately 2019. Members and associates of O9A have espoused violent, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic, and Satanic beliefs, and have expressed admiration for both Nazis, such as Adolf Hitler, and Islamic jihadists, such as Osama Bin Laden, the now-deceased former leader of al Qaeda. Members and associates of O9A have also participated in acts of violence, including murders.
In approximately October 2019, Melzer deployed abroad with the Army. Prior to planning the attack, Melzer consumed propaganda from multiple extremist groups, including O9A and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, which is also known as ISIS. For example, in connection with the investigation, the FBI seized from an iCloud account maintained by Melzer an ISIS-issued document with a title that included the phrase “HARVEST OF THE SOLDIERS” and described attacks and murders of U.S. personnel in approximately April 2020.
In approximately April 2020, the Army informed Melzer of plans for a further foreign deployment by his unit. Melzer thereafter sought to facilitate a deadly attack on his fellow service members. After he was notified of the assignment, Melzer used an encrypted application to send messages to members and associates of O9A and a related group known as the “RapeWaffen Division,” including communications regarding Melzer’s commitment to O9A and sensitive information related to his unit’s anticipated deployment such as locations, movements, and security, for purposes of facilitating an attack on Melzer’s unit. Melzer and his co-conspirators planned what they referred to as a “jihadi attack” during the deployment, with the objective of causing a “mass casualty” event victimizing his fellow service members. Melzer acknowledged in electronic communications that he could be killed during the attack, and, describing his willingness to die, wrote “who gives a [expletive] [. . .] it would be another war . . . I would’ve died successfully . . . cause [] another 10 year war in the Middle East would definitely leave a mark.”
On or about May 17, 2020, Melzer exchanged electronic communications regarding passing information about the anticipated deployment to a purported member of al Qaeda. Between approximately May 24 and May 25, 2020, Melzer sent additional electronic messages with specific information about his unit’s anticipated deployment, including, among other things, the number of soldiers who would be traveling, the location of the facility to which Melzer expected the unit would be deployed, and information about the facility’s surveillance and defensive capabilities. Melzer promised to leak more information once he arrived at the location of the new deployment in order to try to maximize the likelihood of a successful attack on his unit.
During a voluntary interview with military investigators and the FBI, Melzer admitted his role in plotting the attack. Melzer said that he intended the planned attack to result in the deaths of as many of his fellow service members as possible. Melzer also declared himself to be a traitor against the United States, and described his conduct as tantamount to treason.
Melzer now faces life in prison if he is convicted of the charges lodged against him.
With this news in hand, it may be helpful to remind the dear reader that people like Melzer and the other members of the satanic O9A cult are exactly the types of people that Antifa, Donald Trump’s bogeymen du jour, are fighting against.
If Melzer is a dangerous, treasonous fascist and an enemy of Antifa, and Donald Trump is an enemy of Antifa, and Antifa are dedicated opponents of fascism, then simple mathematical logic tells us that Donald Trump is a dangerous, treasonous fascist and Antifa are American heroes to be celebrated, not condemned by racist traitors like Trump.
Glad we’ve gotten that cleared up!
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