WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Three men accused of plotting to target Somali immigrants in a diverse western Kansas community, including a former Manhattan man, are to make their first federal court appearances.
Gavin Wayne Wright who lived in Manhattan several years ago, as well as Curtis Wayne Allen and Patrick Eugene Stein are charged in a complaint unsealed Friday with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. Online court records show they’re to appear Monday morning in a Wichita courtroom.
The complaint says the men are members of a small militia group calling itself “the Crusaders,” and that its members espouse sovereign citizen, anti-government, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant extremist beliefs.
Prosecutors allege the men planned to detonate truck bombs around a small Garden City apartment complex where about 120 Somali residents live. Authorities say the men talked of attacking area churches that helped settle refugees and get them jobs.
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) – Law enforcement sought to reassure Somalis and other immigrants in Garden City of their safety the weekend after three men were accused of plotting to target Somalis in the western Kansas community.
A complaint unsealed Friday charged Wright as well as Curtis Wayne Allen and Patrick Eugene Stein, with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Prosecutors say the suspects are accused of planning to detonate truck bombs around a Garden City apartment complex where about 120 Somali residents live.Dalma Ali Warsame, a 34-year-old Somalian, listened to law enforcement Saturday talk about the arrests. He says the alleged plot has left his family afraid.
But Police Chief Michael Utz says he wants all Garden City residents to know they are safe.
