Sunday October 16, 2016
Presidential candidate says suspects attempted to use 'weapons of mass destruction'
Hillary Clinton has condemned a “highly disturbing” plot by a Kansas militia group to blow up an apartment complex home to numerous Somali immigrants.
The Democratic presidential candidate “applauded” law enforcement and said Americans had to stand firm against “terror” and reject “hateful and divisive rhetoric.”
Curtis Allen, Gavin Wright and Patrick Eugene Stein are facing domestic terrorism charges after allegedly planning to murder Muslims who lived in Garden City, Kansas.
Following the news, Ms Clinton said: “I applaud law enforcement for detecting and disrupting a highly disturbing terror plot in Kansas, in which men were allegedly planning an elaborate attack directed at Muslim Americans, including directing four car bombs at an apartment complex housing more than 100 men, women, and children."
The men, who were part of a group which called themselves the "Crusaders", were arrested following an eight month investigation by the FBI. In addition to discussing raping women and murdering children, the men conducted armed surveillance on the potential target, which housed a mosque, according to the complaint filed against them.
They also stockpiled firearms, ammunition and bomb parts, the complaint said, for the attack, which was intended to “wake people up”.
“This plot is an affront to all Americans," Ms Clinton continued. "We all must stand firm in fighting terror and rejecting hateful and divisive rhetoric – and we must do it together. According to the FBI, their eight-month investigation uncovered ‘a hidden culture of hatred and violence.’
“We should all be grateful to law enforcement for preventing this plot from being carried out."
Ms Clinton said that if elected president, she would work with law enforcement and communities to "prevent both domestic and international terrorist threats."
Meanwhile, the campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump did not mention the issue, releasing no reference to it on social media or in its official press releases on Saturday night.