A former US Marine accused of being part of a terrorist group that allegedly planned a New Year's Eve attack will stay in jail until trial, a federal court has ordered.
Federal court records show that Micah Legnon, whose social media identifies them as a trans woman named Kateri Legnon, was given a federal public defender during an initial appearance on Tuesday. On Wednesday, a detention hearing was held.
The minutes of that hearing indicate that the order was made "despite the testimony of the proposed third-party custodian" during the hearing.
Here are the reasons the court entered as to why detention was ordered:
"The defendant is charged with Threats in Interstate Commerce in violation of 18 USC 875(c). Testimony and evidence at the detention hearing indicated that the defendant posted a message on Facebook indicating it is "time to recreate Waco, tx.," along with derogatory comments about Border Patrol Agents. Testimony indicated that the defendant's activities are related to the activities of members of The Turtle Island Liberation Front in California and that the defendant was communicating with the group via an encrypted App in the group "Order of the Black Lotus." While conducting surveillance, FBI agents witnessed the defendant load an assault rifle and body armor into his vehicle. They then noted that the defendant sent a message to the App indicating she was on her way to New Orleans, along with a video of guns and body armor in the car," the post states. "A search of the defendant's residence, pursuant to a search warrant, yielded sniper training materials, SWAT training materials, assault rifles and ammunition. A search of the car yielded the body armor, guns and a gas canister. Additionally, a search of defendant's phone showed a previous message from the defendant in the Order of the Black Lotus group chat offering to provide training to the group in urban tactics and combat shooting. Based on the factors contained in 18 USC 3142(g) and the evidence submitted at the hearing, the court finds that no condition or combination of conditions can reasonably assure the safety of the community, despite the testimony of the proposed third party custodian."
Also filed into the court record was a witness list in the case, which was sealed by the court, and an exhibit list, which included the photographs below:
The social media account that identifies Legnon as a trans woman named Kateri is the same account the FBI used to build the complaint against Legnon; screen shots from the account are embedded in the affidavit. The complaint identifies Legnon as Micah Legnon, aka "Kateri."
We reached out to Legnon's public defender to see if he has any statement on their behalf. We'll update this story if we hear back.
Legnon was arrested last week after a search warrant was executed on their home; Legnon allegedly was stopped on U.S. 90 by the FBI, after a message to the alleged co-conspirators was sent saying Legnon was on the way to New Orleans with weapons.
To read the full story, click here.
