Latest news with #Michael'LewisArthur'Meyer
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Anti-government group threatens key US weather radar sites
CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Officials from the National Weather Service are on alert after an anti-government group publicly made threats against radar installations across the country. Known as NEXRAD sites, or Next Generation Weather Radar, they are essential tools for meteorologists to monitor and forecast severe weather. Extremist group Veterans on Patrol claims NEXRAD installations contain military-operated 'weather weapons' that are 'poisoning the skies.' The group has not detailed how it intends to target the sites, but its founder, Michael 'Lewis Arthur' Meyer, publicly posted a response to the Washington Post on the messaging app Telegram. FAA, Duffy face grilling over safety, delays at major US airports Meyer said the group plans to 'take as many NexRads offline as possible.' He added that he has 'full authority' to do so. In response, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the NWS, issued an internal warning advising employees to stay vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement. 'NOAA is aware of recent threats against NEXRAD weather radar sites and is working with other authorities in monitoring the situation closely,' a spokesperson told NewsNation. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified Veterans on Patrol as an anti-government militia. The group has claimed it is watching radar sites in several states and is allegedly exploring ways to disable the equipment. These developments come at a challenging time for the National Weather Service, which has been operating under severe staffing shortages. Roughly one-third of its positions remain unfilled following a wave of layoffs initiated by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Militia founder wrongly identified as ICE agent in viral window-smashing video
Left: Michael 'Lewis Arthur' Meyer in an April 15 livestream from the Oklahoma Capitol building. Right: An ICE agent in New Bedford, Mass., uses an axe to smash a car window during an apprehension of a Guatemalan immigrant on April 14. Screenshots via YouTube Social media posts have been falsely claiming that a man with connections to Arizona and far-right militias was the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who smashed a car's window with an axe to apprehend a Guatemalan immigrant. But that man has not been hired by ICE and is currently in Oklahoma spreading conspiracy theories there. Michael 'Lewis Arthur' Meyer is the founder of a group known as Veterans on Patrol which has been involved with a number of militia activities along the southern border often with a QAnon theme. Users on BlueSky and X, formerly Twitter, have been claiming that Meyer is an ICE agent who was seen breaking the window of a vehicle to arrest a Guatemalan immigrant woman as she was waiting for her attorney. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Arizona Mirror found that Meyer was posting videos of himself in Oklahoma at the time of the incident in Massachusetts. Meyer has been making videos of himself at the Oklahoma state Capitol telling staff of lawmakers that he intends to 'destroy' what he claims is 'military weather manipulation' technology. In an email to the Mirror, Meyer confirmed that he has been living in Oklahoma and said he does not work for ICE. And ICE 'vehemently' denied the claims that Meyer works for the agency in any capacity. 'The officer recorded making an arrest in New Bedford, Mass. is not militia leader Lewis Arthur,' an ICE spokesman said in an emailed statement to the Mirror. 'The rumors circulating on social media that ICE Boston employed a militia leader from Arizona to make arrests in New England are not only false, but they are also inflammatory and place the safety of federal officers in jeopardy.' ICE would not release the name of the officer seen in the video, and would only confirm that 'he is a federal law enforcement officer who has worked with ICE to help keep New England communities safe for years.' Meyer believes in the debunked chemtrail conspiracy theory that has been overtaking many state legislatures. His Telegram, a social media channel favored by the far-right for allowing hate speech and graphic content, if full of conspiratorial creeds and allusions to violence towards the alleged weather manipulation technology in Oklahoma. Meyer's group has long engaged in these sorts of antics and 'operations.' In 2018, his group found a homeless encampment and began spreading unfounded claims of sex trafficking and last year claimed that Hurricane Helene was created by the United States military. Meyer also has a criminal record which includes damaging and stealing water meant for migrants along the border left by humanitarian groups in Arizona, disorderly conduct and trespassing at a cement factory he believed was part of a QAnon-style conspiracy. Journalist Jessica Pishko also confirmed on X that she had recently seen Meyer in Oklahoma. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
