US President Donald Trump speaks, following a ceremony signing the ‘America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018’ into law in the Oval Office at the White House on October 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US President Donald Trump speaks, following a ceremony signing the ‘America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018’ into law in the Oval Office at the White House on October 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Attorneys for Kansas militia members who conspired to bomb a mosque and apartment complex housing Somali immigrants have asked the court to take into account at a sentencing hearing next month what they called US President Donald Trump’s rhetoric encouraging violence.
One has asked the judge to also consider the fact that all three men read and shared Russian propaganda on their Facebook feed designed to sow discord in the US political system.
A federal jury convicted Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen of one count of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and one count of conspiracy against civil rights in April. Wright was also found guilty of lying to the FBI. The attack, planned for the day after the 2016 general election, was thwarted by another member of the group who tipped off authorities about escalating threats of violence.