FLOYD COUNTY, Ga. — Less than six months ago, three suspected neo-Nazis traveled to north Georgia to train for a race war, according to prosecutors.
New federal documents shed light for the first time on the alleged training site for "The Base," a suspected violent white extremist group.
"The fact that it's so close to home is alarming. Because you would think they would look for a target nearby, potentially," said Todd Stein, an expert on homegrown terrorism who once worked on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Last week, federal agents arrested three north Georgia men, Luke Lane, Michael Helterbrand and Jacob Kaderli, for allegedly plotting to murder a Bartow County couple.
Investigators said the three were part of the white extremist group "The Base."
New documents show two Maryland men, Brian Mark Lemley and William Bilbrough, and a Canadian national, Patrik Mathews, traveled to a site in rural Floyd County for weapons training.
"Members of 'The Base' conducted a regional training camp in Georgia from August 2 through August 4, 2019," the federal indictment states. "Bilbrough traveled with Lemley in Lemley's vehicle to attend the training camp, and while there participated in tactical training and firearm drills."
Mathews is accused of spending several weeks at the training facility. Federal investigators shared an image of an unknown member of "The Base" training.
"Terrorism is politically-motivated violence," Stein said. "There's something they want to advance and do. So there's a strategy behind their training."
There's been no evidence released so far showing the men planned an attack at any Georgia site. Federal documents show the men planned a race war.
The Base was active online recruiting potential members. However, Stein said it's the in-person meetings in Georgia that should have people concerned.
"One thing we have learned is that people don't radicalize without a face-to-face meeting," said Stein, "They can get started through the internet, but they don't get to the plan where they want to carry out an attack without a face-to-face."
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