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Wisconsin, accused of planning to kill two families and assassinate President Donald Trump, was inspired by Telegram, a white supremacist network run by telegram messaging and social media platforms, according to federal court records.
The Terrorgram community, linked to around 30 criminal cases around the world, including at least three mass shootings, was profiled last month in a documentary produced by Propublica and Frontline.
The court argues that 17-year-old Nikita Kassap, from Waukesha, Wisconsin, wrote a three-page manifesto that called for Trump’s assassination in order to “promote a political revolution in the United States and “save the white race” from “the dominant Jewish politicians.”
In his manifesto, CASAP is said to have encouraged people to read the work of Juraj Krajčík, a longtime terrorist figure who killed two people in an attack on Bratislava’s LGBTQ+ bar in Slovakia in 2022, according to court records. CASAP also said it recommended two publications written by the Terrorgram Collective. TerrorgramCollective is a secret group that created hit lists, videos and written publications, distributed throughout the Terrorgram ecosystem, including building bombs and interfering with critical infrastructure.
Released in 2019, Terrorgram was the constellation of numerous telegram channels and chat groups focusing on inciting white supremacy terrorism and anti-government sabotage. At the peak of the network, some Terrorgram channels attracted thousands of followers. However, the network is in turmoil as authorities in Canada, the US and Europe have arrested major terrogram influencers and community members over the past six months.
However, the violence has not stopped.
CASAP in February allegedly shot and killed his mother, Tatiana Casap and stepfather, Donald Mayer. They stole their property. And Waukesha County prosecutors fled their Volkswagen Atlas. He was arrested in Kansas. Prosecutors charged teenagers with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as identity theft and other charges of theft. He is scheduled to be arrested May 7th, according to court records.
Wisconsin bills said that witnesses told local investigators that CASAP “planned to contact Russian men through telegram apps to overthrow the US government and assassinate President Trump.”
A new, unsealed federal court filing shows that the FBI is investigating CASAP in connection with a conspiracy suspected of assassination.
The department declined to comment on the issue.
Last fall, federal prosecutors accused the two Americans of acting as leaders of terrorism groups and accused them of murdering federal officials and soliciting numerous other terrorist-related crimes. The US State Department officially designates terrorist groups as terrorist organizations, like British and Australian officials. The two Americans pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the FBI affidavit, Casap is said to have written in his manifesto “I will definitely do anything that could lead to the collapse of America and the Americas where you live.” “This is the only way we can save the white race.”
The teenage writings and online posts cited in the affidavit show that he believes in radical acceleratorism. Extremist accelerators aim to accelerate the collapse of modern society through epic acts of violence. From the ruins of today’s democracy, they aim to build an all-white ethnic nation state organized on fascist principles.
Matthew Cliner, executive director of the Institute for Countering Digital Extremism, a nonprofit think tank, is called the CASAP Plot Unique. “This is the first time that an individual has explicitly seen a link between the US president and an accelerator act or conspiracy as a way to disrupt society,” Cliner said. “I think what we have here is a pretty clear case of individuals being groomed to take dramatic terrorist behavior in an acceleratoristic way.”
CASAP’s public defense attorney could not be reached for comment.
A Telegram spokesperson said, “Telegram supports a peaceful exchange of ideas. However, calls for violence are strictly prohibited by our Terms of Use and will be actively removed in response to user reports.”
The secret life of a “dooty” DJ at the heart of online terrorism networks
A review of Propublica and Frontline shows that CASAP has been active in at least five militant telegram channels or chat groups recently. This includes the Russian Neo-Naji Chat, where the poster uploads detailed instructions for creating explosives, poison and improvisational firearms. He was also a member of a chat group with over 4,300 participants run by the global neo-Nazi organization Misanthropic Division.
According to federal documents, CASAP also sought information online on nine angles, the cult’s nine angles, which blended the concept of the devil with Nazi ideology, increasingly turning its eye to telegrams for adoption and conversion.
“This is a clear example of how Terragram continues to influence murder,” says Jennefer Harper, a researcher studying online extremism. “Nikita was influenced online by ideology and group assortment that intersects the terrogram ecosphere.”
