Kansas militiamen on trial allegedly called killing Somali immigrants 'Crusades 2.0'

Jurors in the trial of three southwest Kansas militia members accused of plotting to bomb Somali Muslim immigrants heard this week secretly taped recordings of the men talking about killing Muslims and calling them "cockroaches."

The rhetoric was alarming enough that an ex-militia member who heard it said he was concerned their plans were "not just talk."

The men — Curtis Allen, Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright — allegedly plotted to set off a bomb in 2016 at a Garden City, Kan., apartment complex where Somali immigrants were living. The plans were foiled by federal investigators, and the three were arrested and charged by October 2016.

The three men are now on trial in federal court, which began last week in Wichita. They've pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

Federal officials allege Allen, Stein and Wright hoped to create a “bloodbath” by detonating vehicles laden with bombs the day after the November 2016 election.

An FBI informant, Dan Day, testified Wednesday that Stein started trying to recruit other militia members to kill Muslims after the June 2016 attack on the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., the Associated Press reported.

Day secretly recorded conversations and meetings he had with the Kansas militiamen, who were part of an organization called the Kansas Security Force.

In one recording, the jury heard Stein describe their plans to kill Muslims as the start of the "Crusades 2.0," because he apparently likened them to a new Christian holy war, the Associated Press reported.

Day also testified Stein called himself "Orkin man" — a reference to the pest control chain — because he wanted to exterminate the Somalis, whom he referred to as "cockroaches."

In another recording, a HuffPost reporter Christopher Mathias tweeted jurors heard the men talking about killing a landlord of an apartment complex where Muslims lived and raping his wife and daughter to keep others from renting to Muslims.

“The only good Muslim is a dead Muslim,” Stein said in one of the recordings, according to HuffPost. “If you’re a Muslim, I’m going to enjoy shooting you in the head.”

A defense attorney for Allen reportedly called the men's words of violence against Muslims "locker room talk."

“Hatred is not a crime in this country,” the public defender, Rich Federico, told the jurors, the HuffPost reported.

Another defense attorney, representing Wright, characterized meetings between the men as "complaint and bull sessions," HPPR reported last week.

Defense attorneys are expected to cross-examine Day, the FBI informant, when the trial picks up again next week, the Kansas News Service reported.

Jurors this week also heard from Brody Benson, a former member of the militia group, who wrote on social media after the Pulse nightclub attack, "F------ Islam. I'm done. Kill them all," according to HuffPost.

Benson said he was "venting" when he used that language, but after hearing Stein allegedly talking about bombing Somali Muslims in Garden City, he became concerned.

Benson, according to the Associated Press, testified, "I actually thought it was not just talk — it was more of an actual action, action."

He said he left the militia group after that meeting with Stein.

The trial is ongoing, and is expected to resume Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 1:21 PM with the headline "Kansas militiamen on trial allegedly called killing Somali immigrants 'Crusades 2.0'."