Boise man was arrested on terrorism charges. Here’s why his case was moved to California
A Boise man who was arrested earlier this month on federal charges, including providing aid to terrorists, will face court in California, not Idaho, court filings showed.
Matthew Robert Allison, 37, was arrested Sept. 6 at the Jules on 3rd apartments in downtown Boise, where he lived. Allison was scheduled for a hearing on a motion to detain Wednesday morning at the James A. McClure federal courthouse in Boise, but Allison waived his right to a detention hearing Monday.
Court filings showed Allison was committed to the Eastern District of California, which is based in Sacramento, the same day.
Allison was indicted by a grand jury in the California district alongside Dallas Humber, a California woman who faces the same 15 charges as Allison. Both are accused of leading the “Terrorgram Collective,” a network of white supremacists using the social media site Telegram to incite terrorist attacks and instigate a “race war.”
Humber and Allison were charged with conspiracy; four counts of solicitation of a hate crime; three counts of solicitation of the murder of a federal official; three counts of doxing a federal official; interstate threatening communication; distribution of information related to explosives that involved the assault and murder of federal officials; distribution of information related to explosives that involved hate crimes; and conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists.
Humber pleaded not guilty shortly after her arrest.
Allison admitted to the crimes after his arrest, according to the government’s motion to detain. The motion, filed last week, outlined the prosecution’s argument for keeping Allison and Humber in custody for the duration of the case. Officials said the pair posed a significant threat to the public and law enforcement, as well as a significant flight risk. The motion to detain said Allison had encouraged Terrorgram users to “go down shooting” if faced with arrest.
Allison was wearing a backpack containing a gun, ammunition, zip ties, duct tape, a lockpicking kit and other items when he was arrested, officials said. They also found a “go bag” in his apartment that contained a passport, a large amount of cash and other items indicating he planned to flee the country.
It was unclear Wednesday whether Allison remained in Idaho or when he would appear in court next.
