White Nationalist Leader Sentenced to Prison

A man claiming to be the leader of a white supremacist group in Tuscola County has been sentenced to up to four years in prison for conspiring to train a civil disorder and felony firearms.

25-year-old Justen Watkins of Bad Axe is a member of The Base, a group espousing violence against the state, anti-Semitism and preparing for a race war, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s office. The charges stem from a December 2019 incident where a Dexter family was terrorized in their home. Watkins is also facing sentencing in Washtenaw County on the charges.

Fellow Base members Alfred Gorman was sentenced to four months probation for gang membership, Thomas Denton is sentenced to up to four years in prison for felony firearms and conspiracy to train with firearms for a civil disorder and Tristan Webb is awaiting sentencing on charges of gang membership, conspiracy to train with firearms for a civil disorder and felony firearm.