This week, two men were charged in Virginia with trying to buy weapons and explosives in order to attack black churches and synagogues.
The Associated Press reports that Ronald Beasley Cheney III and Robert C. Doyle attempted to purchase an automatic weapon, a pistol with a silencer and explosives from undercover FBI agents posing as illegal weapons dealers. According to an affidavit written by an FBI agent and filed on Monday in Richmond’s U.S. District Court, the men are charged with consipracy to possess firearms after felony convictions. An associate, Charles D. Halderman, was charged with robbery conspiracy. The affidavit says that Halderman is accused of planning to rob a jewelry store to fund the purchase of land and weapons for "an impending race war."
Cheney and Doyle are further described in the affidavit as "ascrib[ing] to a white supremacy extremist version of the Asatru faith," a pagan faith based around Norse deities. The FBI uncovered their prospective plot to attack black churches and synagogues, as well as cause further harm to Jewish people. Cheney, Doyle and Halderman each have multiple felony convictions on their records.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch also reported that Cheney’s father, Ronald B. Cheney Jr., "is facing firearms and drug charges in the wake of a search warrant executed Sunday at his home." Terry Gunn Chaney, believed to be his wife, is facing similar charges.