The leader of a militia group identified for detaining migrants at the US border has been accused of plotting the assassination of former US President Barack Obama and different key Democratic Party figures, the FBI stated in court docket papers.
Militia leader Larry Hopkins, 69, was arrested on Saturday for a weapons cost stated to be unrelated to his actions on the border. But the FBI now says Hopkins bragged about his fellow militia members “training to assassinate” former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and billionaire Democratic Party donor George Soros.
During a 2017 FBI investigation into his militia ties, witnesses claimed Hopkins boasted of the assassination plot, in accordance to the FBI’s prison criticism, filed Monday.
Hopkins’ group, the United Constitutional Patriots, claims to have helped the US Border Patrol to detain over 5,600 immigrants in the earlier two months. The ACLU has condemned the group as a “fascist militia” and known as its members vigilantes.
“We cannot allow racist and armed vigilantes to kidnap and detain people seeking asylum,” the ACLU stated in a letter to New Mexico Governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham and Attorney General Hector Balderas.
Hopkins appeared in court docket on Monday in Las Cruces, New Mexico, to face the gun cost. His legal professional, Kelly O’Connell, stated he deliberate to plead not responsible.