Illinois woman pleads guilty to charges related to domestic terrorism

URBANA, Ill. (WAND) - An Illinois woman who faces attempted arson and other charges related to domestic terrorism has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Emily Claire Hari, 50, admitted to committing the crimes of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats and violence, attempted arson, unlawful possession of a machine gun and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Hari will be sentenced on June 13 at the U.S. courthouse in Urbana.

Prosecutors said Hari, who was previously known as Michael B. Hari, started a militia group in late 2017 called the "Patriot Freedom Fighters," which later went on to be called the "White Rabbits." Convicted conspirators Michael McWhorter, Joe Morris, Ellis J. Mack and Wesley Johnson were also involved.

The conspirators were involved in a number of crimes. As part of their activities, they obtained materials used to make incendiary devices and acquired/assembled four shotguns and four assault rifles. Some of the weapons were fully automatic. Prosecutors said the conspirators had the weapons and termite stored in a locked safe at their "office" in Clarence.

Authorities said Hari, McWhorter, Morris and Johnson were involved in attempting to use a pipe bomb at the Women's Health Practice building in Champaign on Nov. 7, 2017. They traveled to the building, where prosecutors said Morris broke a window and put the bomb inside. It did not go off, and on the morning of Nov. 7, a receptionist saw it and called police.

With Hari's approval, the conspirators traveled on Dec. 16, 2017 from Clarence to a home in Ambia, Ind., to try and rob a Hispanic person they thought was involved in drug trafficking. Prosectors said the conspirators were robbed and pretended to be law enforcement executing a search warrant. After forcing entry, they handcuffed and zip-tied residents, causing injury to the wrists of one of the zip-tied people. They left and returned to Clarence after searching for cash and drugs.

Two times in December 2017, several conspirators went to WalMart stores in Illinois (Watseka and Mt. Vernon) to try and get money. Prosecutors said they went inside with dangerous weapons and confronted cashiers.

Hari, McWhorter and Morris went on Jan. 17, 2018 to a location near Effingham, where they tried to sabotage railroad tracks owned by the Canadian National Railway with what prosecutors called an incendiary device. After the attempted sabotage, they sent a demand via an anonymous email to the railway threatening there would be more damage if the railroad did not pay about $190,000 in cryptocurrency.

On Feb. 18, 2018, the conspirators placed bomb-making materials, along with a pipe bomb, on the property of a Clarence resident to try to get them in trouble before a court hearing in Ford County. In this hearing, Hari faced criminal charges for allegedly assaulting this person in June 2017. Hari then sent an anonymous "tip" to authorities said explosive devices were in a suitcase and gray bag in a shed on the property. The FBI responded and found multiple explosive devices, along with a pipe bomb that was attached to a small green propane tank, in the shed.

The conspirators then became concerned the FBI might find their office and take their weapons. Prosecutors said Hari and McWhorter moved those weapons, including machine guns, to the residence of another militia group member in Clarence. The weapons were seized, and prosecutors said McWhorter, Morris and Mack then fled Clarence to hide in the woods and in abandoned barns.

Hari is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. He was convicted in December 2020 of charges related to an August 2017 firebombing of a Minnesota mosque, along with McWhorter and Morris. On those charges, a federal judge in Minnesota sentenced Hari to 53 years in prison.

For the attempted arson charge, Hari faces five to 20 years in prison. She faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars for conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats and violence and a 10-year maximum sentence for for the firearm charges.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Springfield. The government was represented in prosecution by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller in the Central District of Illinois.