A video of a White Rabbits member, reportedly Michael Hari, a suspect in two bombing plots in Minnesota and Illinois, and the suspected leader of the militia.
On March. 13, 2018, three Illinois men were arrested on federal charges and accused of being the prime suspects in two bomb plots last year. The first, which took place last August, was directed towards the Al Farooq Islamic Center is Bloomington, Minnesota. In November, the trio was allegedly responsible for a failed bombing at the Women's Health Practice in Champaign, Illinois.
However, who are these men and what are their connections to the far-right movement in the United States?
The three men are all reportedly members of the White Rabbits Militia, an armed far-right group based in central Illinois. According to prosecutors, one of the suspects, Michael Hari, is the leader of the White Rabbits (WR). Doing some Google searching for the WR, one can find several forum posts and over a dozen YouTube videos posted by a "Illinois Patriot." ABC 7, a Chicago-based station, has linked this account to Hari.
Starting with the forum posts, the posts were made on a website called My Militia, which is used by various militia groups across the United States. The account of "Illinois Patriot" made several pleas for help on the forum, calling FBI activity in Clarence, Illinois, a "crisis."
However, who are these men and what are their connections to the far-right movement in the United States?
The three men are all reportedly members of the White Rabbits Militia, an armed far-right group based in central Illinois. According to prosecutors, one of the suspects, Michael Hari, is the leader of the White Rabbits (WR). Doing some Google searching for the WR, one can find several forum posts and over a dozen YouTube videos posted by a "Illinois Patriot." ABC 7, a Chicago-based station, has linked this account to Hari.
Starting with the forum posts, the posts were made on a website called My Militia, which is used by various militia groups across the United States. The account of "Illinois Patriot" made several pleas for help on the forum, calling FBI activity in Clarence, Illinois, a "crisis."
A day prior to the arrest of the suspects, the account posted a long statement about a planned protest in the town of Clarence. In the statement, several personal details were included in which ABC 7 was (presumably) able to connect the dots between the account and Hari.
The News-Gazette, a local news publication in Champaign, Illinois, did a deep dive into Hari's past. What the publication found is that Hari was radicalized following the Waco siege in 1993 (as confirmed by the screenshot above.) In 1995, he became a sheriff's deputy in Ford County, Illinois, just north of Champaign. In 1998, he ran for Sheriff in Ford County as a Libertarian, but lost (again, confirmed above.) However, in 2000, he joined the Old Order of the German Bapists, a religious sect similar to the Amish.
The News-Gazette also found that Hari was wanted in 2005 for abducting his daughters and fleeing to a Mennonite refuge in Belize. The case garnered the attention of Dr. Phil, who hired a private investigator to find Hari. According to court documents, Hari also has a pending alleged assault case.
From Hari's posts on the militia forums, one is directed to both his YouTube account and the website of the WR militia. Beginning with the website, a prominent "declaration of armed rebellion" against the State of Illinois can be found.
The "declaration" hurls a litany of complaints against the state. "Illinois is a failed republic in three respects," it begins, " the state has failed to provide basic services to the people in the area of security. In the city of Chicago, the state has tolerated and encouraged a security vacuum that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of shootings and earned the city nicknames like Chiraq."
The second complaint details "failures of education," which details the State's corruption in this regard. Finally, the long-winded declaration rails against the Illinois court systems, which the militia accuses of punishing the innocent and ruining fair trials with plea bargains. Diatribes against Governor Rauner and "terror agencies" (specifically the Department of Children and Family Services), also riddle the so-called declaration.
At the end, the militia is more explicit about its goals. "We declare that a State of War exists between the good people of the State of Illinois and the so-called State Government." It continues by saying, "this state of war was not caused by the people, but by the acts of the so-called state government, which has committed the acts of war listed above against the people. Only Revolution can remedy the ills of this state."
The group's objectives in its "revolution" can be found below:
The News-Gazette also found that Hari was wanted in 2005 for abducting his daughters and fleeing to a Mennonite refuge in Belize. The case garnered the attention of Dr. Phil, who hired a private investigator to find Hari. According to court documents, Hari also has a pending alleged assault case.
From Hari's posts on the militia forums, one is directed to both his YouTube account and the website of the WR militia. Beginning with the website, a prominent "declaration of armed rebellion" against the State of Illinois can be found.
The "declaration" hurls a litany of complaints against the state. "Illinois is a failed republic in three respects," it begins, " the state has failed to provide basic services to the people in the area of security. In the city of Chicago, the state has tolerated and encouraged a security vacuum that has resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of shootings and earned the city nicknames like Chiraq."
The second complaint details "failures of education," which details the State's corruption in this regard. Finally, the long-winded declaration rails against the Illinois court systems, which the militia accuses of punishing the innocent and ruining fair trials with plea bargains. Diatribes against Governor Rauner and "terror agencies" (specifically the Department of Children and Family Services), also riddle the so-called declaration.
At the end, the militia is more explicit about its goals. "We declare that a State of War exists between the good people of the State of Illinois and the so-called State Government." It continues by saying, "this state of war was not caused by the people, but by the acts of the so-called state government, which has committed the acts of war listed above against the people. Only Revolution can remedy the ills of this state."
The group's objectives in its "revolution" can be found below:
Moreover, the group also addresses a portion of its declaration directly to President Trump and his administration. "We reach out to the Trump Administration to hear our plea and join our revolution—intervening to guarantee us our 6th Amendment rights, and to all other public officials of good will to join with us in our struggle," the statement says. "We fight because we do not know what else to do. We call upon all freedom loving Americans to come to our state and fight by our side for our rights."
The group also claims it will not use terrorist actions, however, based on the charges pending against three of its members, including its leader, this claim is dubious at best.
In a separate entry, the militia outlines what it determines is "armed resistance."
The website also includes several "Wanted" posters for Illinois politicians, which it details are the main opponents in its "armed resistance."
YouTube videos associated with Hari and the WR militia include many of the same topics, including the state of the education system in Illinois, lectures against the DCFS (five of the videos are dedicated to the agency), as well as "updates" on the group and the town of Clarence in the days leading up to Hari's arrest.
The video below details the majority of these themes. It was uploaded last December, just a month after Hari is accused of attempting to bomb the Women's Health Practice in Champaign. The video includes many of the common themes, including criticisms against other far-right militias. Which is interesting, as Hari would later appeal to other far-right militias to assist his just a three months later.
The video below details the majority of these themes. It was uploaded last December, just a month after Hari is accused of attempting to bomb the Women's Health Practice in Champaign. The video includes many of the common themes, including criticisms against other far-right militias. Which is interesting, as Hari would later appeal to other far-right militias to assist his just a three months later.
In the video below, these common themes are again highlighted, but this time played with overtly racist music. While the militia does not speak about racist themes on its website, its far-right nature can be seen in the two videos linked here.
It is unclear how many members belong to the White Rabbits. Additionally, social media postings belonging to the group, as well as website updates, have stopped since the arrest of Hari. Hari mentioned other members in the community of Clarence, but it is unclear how true the statement was. That said, authorities have deemed the White Rabbits a domestic terrorist group. The group has promised to use guerrilla warfare tactics against the State of Illinois and as the bombing cases show, members of the group are incredibly dangerous.
- Caleb