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‘Trans girls need guns’: Terrorism inquiry puts supporter of leftist gun community behind bars

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Cite

Crozier, H. (2026, October 9). ‘Trans girls need guns’: Terrorism inquiry puts supporter of leftist gun community behind bars. Washington Examiner. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/4761030/trans-girls-need-guns-terrorism-inquiry-puts-supporter-of-leftist-gun-community-behind-bars/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Washington Examiner · collected 2026-10-09 · by Hudson Crozier

Quick Summary

Anthony Slota, a transgender individual who supports leftist views and advocates for gun rights online, has been arrested in Alabama along with another person, Levi Belcher, as part of a terrorism investigation. The arrests came after threatening messages to kill immigration agents were discovered online. Police found weapons and anti-government materials during the raid on their home and vehicle. Slota’s social media posts include endorsements of violence against political opponents and encouragement for armed conflict. He faces federal charges related to illegal rifle possession, along with a state charge of possessing a sawed-off rifle, holding him in jail with a $15,000 bond.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In December 2025, 18-year-old Levi Belcher from Tennessee made threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on social media, which were reported by a witness. After being listed as missing in January 2026, law enforcement searched an apartment in Huntsville, Alabama, on September 10, finding it filled with anti-government symbols and writings, including a rifle marked "anti fascist." Belcher was arrested along with two roommates, Tadashi Erekson and Anthony Slota, who were charged with possessing unregistered rifles. Belcher was additionally charged with threatening communications. The FBI alleged that the suspects had planned to follow law enforcement officers around as a form of community protection but this behavior was interpreted by authorities as potential terrorism. This case highlights tensions between left-wing political activism and perceived threats to national security under President Donald Trump's administration, which viewed such activities as significant concerns.

Written for “Extremist Threats InvestigationAlabama” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Extremist Threats InvestigationAlabama
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 9% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
Hedges 8 of 51 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different individuals arrested in separate incidents related to online threats and support for violence, not the same specific school shooting incident.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 5 of 26 claims Outlet record 70/100
New York Post
Hedges 7 of 96 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events involving distinct groups and individuals.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
33
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
9%
3 of 33 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
70/100
Washington Examiner's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Washington Examiner · 3905 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Hudson Crozier
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The pair advertised their fake services to a sheriff’s deputy, tried to approach a Navy base in Georgia, and may have recruited an unnamed Pentagon employee, the Department of Justice claimed.
🔮 Leftists convicted in a 2023 vandalism attack said Thursday they will return to jail rather than testify in a federal grand jury investigation in New Hampshire.
🔮 A May 2025 French parliamentary investigation labeled the club a “student branch of the Muslim Brotherhood,” the decades-old Islamic fundamentalist movement that created Hamas and which maintains political connections worldwide, according to a summary by the American think tank Middle East Forum.
🔮 The now-deleted post invited viewers to join an Oct. 7 City Hall protest against Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani for supposedly failing the pro-Palestinian cause, the Washington Examiner previously reported.
🔮 Slota told officials that “he and Belcher would ‘cop watch’ meaning they would follow law enforcement, such as [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Huntsville Police Department], around as a means of protecting the community,” an FBI counterterrorism agent wrote.
🔮 The speaker expressed hope that they could “put a complete stop to major aspects, if not the entire border wall happening here.”
🔮 But many in the place I grew up would recoil at a statement like that.
🔮 A witness later reported the suspect to authorities over alleged December 2025 posts on Threads saying Belcher would “gun down an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agent on sight” and showing a firearm.
🔮 The rapid growth of America’s Muslim population is renewing fears that Sharia could undermine American values, including in Texas, where Republicans are strategizing on how to restrict Islamic political influence.
🔮 “I am sensitive to any situation that would unduly expose our colleagues to such risks.”
Also by Hudson Crozier
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by Hudson Crozier →

Topics

Alabama FBI Huntsville The Department of Justice Washington Examiner

Subjects

Slota PERSON · 16× Belcher PERSON · 4× FBI ORG · 2× Instagram ORG · 2× Alabama GPE · 1× Anthony Slota PERSON · 1× Huntsville GPE · 1× Levi Belcher PERSON · 1× Violet PERSON · 1× Washington Examiner ORG · 1×

Narrative

Slota told officials that “he and Belcher would ‘cop watch’ meaning they would follow law enforcement, such as [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Huntsville Police Department], around as a means of protecting the community,” an FBI counterterrorism agent wrote.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 Slota told officials that “he and Belcher would ‘cop watch’ meaning they would follow law enforcement, such as [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Huntsville Police Department], around as a means of protecting the community,” an FBI counterterrorism agent wrote.

Claims (33 extracted, 3 hedged)

A transgender firearm connoisseur is in Alabama custody on gun charges stemming from a terrorism investigation into his roommate. asserted
connoisseur → stem → roommate
Anthony Slota, referred to as “Violet” on social media and in court records, was arrested on Sept. 10 with fellow defendant Levi Belcher after online threats to kill immigration agents put authorities on their trail. asserted
threats → refer → trail
Slota’s online footprint shows a history of endorsing violence against political enemies, training with firearms, and inviting other leftists to prepare for possible armed conflict before his arrest, a Washington Examiner review found. asserted
review → show → arrest
Police found numerous weapons and anti-government materials in the defendants’ vehicle and Huntsville apartment, according to court documents. uncertain
Police → find → documents
The Department of Justice charged Belcher, Slota, and a third roommate with possessing illegal rifles, while Belcher is also charged with the December 2025 threats that sparked the investigation. asserted
that → charge → investigation
Slota repeatedly posted about the need for guns and the Second Amendment to protect trans-identifying people, adopting a username with the LGBT activist phrase “arm the dolls.” asserted
Slota → post → dolls
Slota’s prosecution is the latest linked to an informal but growing gun fandom on the far Left. asserted
prosecution → link → Left
“GET YOUR FRIENDS AND GUNS TOGETHER FOR A [conversation] ABOUT WHO TO PROTECT YOUR COMMUNITY FROM,” Slota posted on Instagram on Sept. 10. asserted
Slota → get → Sept.
The post featured a photo of three gun-toting individuals in a wooded area with their faces censored. asserted
faces → feature → area
More images in the post showed a drawing of a Ku Klux Klan hood being shot and lists of enemy groups that included the Proud Boys, the Community of Police Supporters Northwest, and neo-Nazis. asserted
that → show → Police
Federal court records did not list an attorney for Slota on Friday, and local court information was not available. asserted
information → list → Friday
Slota is held in a Madison County jail on $15,000 bond with a state charge of possessing a sawed-off rifle on top of his federal charges. asserted
Slota → hold → charges
On the night of the arrests, federal agents who were initially looking for Belcher saw him and Slota wearing body armor and carrying guns as they began driving a vehicle, according to criminal complaints. uncertain
they → look → complaints
Authorities arrested them during a traffic stop and later detained the third defendant during the home raid. asserted
Authorities → arrest → raid
Slota told officials that “he and Belcher would ‘cop watch’ meaning they would follow law enforcement, such as [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and [Huntsville Police Department], around as a means of protecting the community,” an FBI counterterrorism agent wrote. asserted
agent → tell → community
Prosecutors have not accused the trio of a specific violent plot, though the FBI’s investigation is ongoing. asserted
investigation → accuse → plot
A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agent told the press on Thursday that police found “what appeared to be an ambush-style setup” of weapons in the home. asserted
what → tell → home
He also alluded to “a note that indicated the intent to commit a serious criminal act” inside the defendants’ vehicle. asserted
that → allude → vehicle
Slota’s stated contempt for law enforcement and support for armed resistance was on display before his arrest. asserted
contempt → state → arrest
Videos Slota posted on Instagram showed him tracking suspected police activity around town, calling officers “pigs” and “blue devils” in captions. asserted
him → post → captions
A reel Slota shared weeks ago also shows a guillotine beheading an imaginary President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and other figures as upbeat music plays. asserted
music → share → Trump
Another post depicted Slota posing in a green mask with weaponry and a song titled “Trans Girls Need Guns” playing. asserted
Girls → depict → Guns
“If you get shot tryna pull a trans person out the bathroom that is your own fault,” Slota posted in August. asserted
Slota → shoot → August
“There can be no ‘unprovoked’ violence against a Nazi,” reads a post from Slota’s X account that month. asserted
post → read → account
“If you take up that identity, you’ve already declared violent intent — anything done in response is just varying levels on self-defense.” asserted
anything → take → defense
The leftists who love the Second Amendment Sentiments like Slota’s helped drive a growth in leftist militia-like organizations since Trump’s 2016 election win, according to 2025 research from George Washington University. uncertain
who → love → University
The groups similarly present themselves as armed community defenders against the government or right-wing extremists, but continue to find members who get in trouble with law enforcement. asserted
who → present → enforcement
The DOJ won a 100-year sentence in June against a leader of one such group, the Elm Fork John Brown Gun Club, after he shot a police officer in the neck during an armed anti-ICE riot. asserted
he → win → riot
A founding member of a John Brown Gun Club chapter in Washington State also died in a police shooting in 2019 after throwing bombs at an ICE facility. asserted
member → found → facility
Trump has put more emphasis on disrupting violent left-wing networks since the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, 2025. asserted
Trump → put → Sept.
As the country reflected on one year since the murder, Slota posted about the urgency to brace for the possibility of more bloodshed — just before his arrest that day. asserted
Slota → reflect → arrest
“No one is coming to save us. asserted
one → come → us
So we keep us safe,” the Sept. 10 post says. asserted
post → keep → us
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