We have become familiar with Eddie and Jeffrey Raphiel Clark over the past year and a half and it was always a case of either they were going to hurt themselves or others. It was the former.

WASHINGTON, DC – When the Clark Brothers began to be publicly active early 2017, it was alongside Richard Spencer, who they followed almost religiously. They were seen at many of the Washington, DC area rallies, participated in the tragic “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA later that year, and was even seen spying on leftist gatherings in town. They made no bones about the fact that they were Nazis, a declaration that is a particular oddity in this day and age of those within their circles being particularly careful with how they are perceived. And they especially made known their disdain for Jews and Jeffrey – who is often referred to as “Raph” – were particularly vocal about their fantasies of a war with not only Jews but anyone of color as well, calling himself on Gab a “Meth-Smoking, Pipe bomb making, mailman-murding . . . Che Guevara of the altright.”

On Tuesday, Jeffrey “Raph” Clark, 30, appeared in U.S. District Court in Washington, arrested on Nov. 9 and charged with illegally possessing a firearm and a high-capacity magazine. On Oct. 27, hours after a gunman opened fire on a synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA killing 11, Edward Clark, 23, fatally shot himself on Theodore Roosevelt Island near Washington, and that was the catalyst to a downward spiral that concerned their family members.

It is known that Raph Clark was following Robert Bowers, the suspected gunman in the Tree of Life synagouge shooting, on the neo-Fascist social network Gab and was concerned that while he had not broken any laws, he was concerned that federal law enforcement will pay him a visit. According to reports, he stated that  further noted that if he was indeed visited by agents concerning his association with Bowers, “if a line gets crossed, I would be violent, everyone has a line . . .” To that end, his family became concerned too – about him. According to the Washington Post, two family members were the ones that alerted police to his increased outbursts, particularly after the death of his brother, an affidavit saying that he felt the victims of the synagogue shooting “deserved it” because a homosexual Jewish couple was having an adopted baby circumcised, justifying the attack. “(The) fucking kikes that got shot by the hero #RobertBowers were all active supporters of pedophilia…and every last one of them deserved exactly what happened to them and so much worse,” he wrote in one post, and subsequent posts suggesting the attack was a “dry run for things to come” suggested to investigators that he might have known more about the Tree of Life shooting than surmised.

The family members told FBI agents he and his brother became interested in guns in 2016 “because they believed there was going to be a civil war.” Police reports note that the brothers had four guns between them, registered in the District — a Remington Arms handgun, a Mossberg shotgun, a Beretta handgun – which was recovered at the site of Edward Clark’s suicide – and a Ruger Mini-14 rifle. Other weapons were seized at the home of a relative outside Washington, DC, and a Raph Clark surrendered a Colt .38 handgun that wasn’t registered to either brother and agents confiscated two kits to convert semiautomatic AR-15s into fully automatic rifles. In addition they found two muzzleloading pistols and shotgun shells in Raph Clark’s bedroom and in the basement of their house. Two ballistic vests, two ballistic helmets and two gas masks were found in Edward Clark’s bedroom.

Raph Clark is also charged with illegally possessing a firearm while using or addicted to a controlled substance and with possession of a high-speed magazine. During his interview with federal agents, he told them he used marijuana nearly every day. The affidavit stated that he and Edward indeed smoked regularly, but no other use of any other drugs were apparent. At his initial court appearance Tuesday afternoon, Raph Clark was ordered held until Friday.

The Clark Brothers started to be noticed when they participated in a rally organized by Richard Spencer on April 8, 2017, the first to arrive along with Identity Evropa members William Clark (no relation) and Elliot R. Kline, aka Eli Mosely, who later became the head of that group until accusations of stolen valor toppled him. In a video produced by One People’s Project, Raph Clark proclaimed himself to be a “Nazi” while Edward implied that African Americans were “leeching” off the society his ancestors built. One week later, they appeared again during a rally that both Richard Spencer and neo-Fascist propagandist Jack Posobiec led, a rally put on by Spencer at the Lincoln Memorial in June 2017, and also at a number of the rallies held in Charlottesville during the Spring and Summer of 2017.

The Clark Brothers started to gain attention from antifa after they showed up alongside another local neo-Fascist named Jamie Troutman at a book tour stop for Alexander Reid (Against the Fascist Creep) in Washington, DC wearing Make America Great Again hats, and left after antifa confronted them and secured the venue. Afterwards not only did Jack Posobiec reportedly post a pirated copy of Reid’s book online, Raph Clark reportedly made threats on Twitter using a since-suspended account @dc_Stormer, the name Edward Clark used on Gab.

Regarding death threats, here’s a note from right-wing Jeffery Raph Clark, @dc_stormer, who lives in DC area and has come to #antifa events. pic.twitter.com/bTRTQRH2By

— Lacy MacAuley (@lacymacauley) July 4, 2017

This guy, Jeffrey Raphael Clark, is the guy who took a moment to send a death threat. Another fascist next door? Serial killer? pic.twitter.com/q9TiV8A9yY

— Lacy MacAuley (@lacymacauley) July 4, 2017

Jeffrey R. Clark faces a maximum of 10 years in prison on the weapons charge, while the ammunition charge carries a maximum of 1 year in prison. There are also potential financial penalties.