A homegrown militia group is planning to attack and destroy weather tracking radar systems across the country, claiming the life-saving installations are secretly weapons created by the government, according to officials.
Staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were recently warned that a far-right group, Veterans on Patrol, has put NEXRAD radar installations in its crosshairs, according to emails obtained by CNN.
“This group is advocating for anyone and everyone to join them in conducting penetration drills on NEXRAD sites to identify weaknesses which can be used to ultimately destroy the sites,” the email stated, according to CNN.
NOAA told members of its security to be ready for anything, and not to travel alone.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are asking all regions to notify their field offices and radar technicians to maintain increased vigilance when at or near radar sites,” NOAA said in a May 1 memo, according to The Washington Post.
“Do not engage with anyone suspicious; instead, notify local law enforcement,” an email read, per CNN.
NEXRAD, or Next Generation Weather Radar, has been in use for more than 30 years, and there are 160 of them throughout the country, according to NOAA.
“The NEXRAD system detects precipitation and wind, and its data can be processed to map precipitation patterns and movement,” which allow experts to more quickly and accurately predict severe weather and issue warnings that can save lives.
However, Veterans on Patrol “referred to the NEXRAD system towers as ‘weather weapons,’ and claimed there were no laws preventing American citizens from destroying the ‘weapons,’” an email read, CNN reported.
It’s unclear how Veterans on Patrol plans to destroy the radars, but group founder Lewis Meyer told The Washington Post that they are training.
“We intend to take as many NEXRADs offline as possible once our attack simulations have prepared us,” Meyer said, adding that preparations would last until at least June.
The group is pushing members to test NEXRAD sites to determine how tough they are to infiltrate and attack, and claims it already has followers gathering information in Oklahoma and Washington, the outlet reported.
The Southern Poverty Law Center describes Veterans on Patrol as an anti-government militia and its founder, Meyer, as “a Christian nationalist who rallies hard-right extremists and conspiracy theorists … and encourages vigilantism.”
The group garnered attention in November with claims that Hurricane Helene, which devastated North Carolina, was caused by a government-controlled weather weapon, The Guardian reported.
