In a social profile verified by date of birth, Croft wore a tricorn hat and a sweatshirt with the insignia of the Three Percenters, an armed anti-government movement. Croft’s online footprint shows what appears to have been years of involvement in armed movements.

In 2016, while he was living in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Croft pushed pro-Trump conspiracy theories that absolved Russia of meddling in the 2016 election, calling investigations of Trump an “uprising.”

Croft added that he would be willing to fight for his beliefs and that he would be joined by millions of others, adding that they had more firearms than their perceived enemies.

Caserta’s social media timelines showed a more rapid radicalization path that accelerated after the pandemic forced Michigan into lockdown.