Hillary Clinton has condemned a “highly disturbing” plot by a Kansas militia group to blow up an apartment complex home to numerous Somali immigrants.

The Democratic presidential candidate “applauded” law enforcement and said Americans had to stand firm against “terror” and reject “hateful and divisive rhetoric.”

Curtis Allen, Gavin Wright and Patrick Eugene Stein are facing domestic terrorism charges after allegedly planning to murder Muslims who lived in Garden City, Kansas.

Following the news, Ms Clinton said: “I applaud law enforcement for detecting and disrupting a highly disturbing terror plot in Kansas, in which men were allegedly planning an elaborate attack directed at Muslim Americans, including directing four car bombs at an apartment complex housing more than 100 men, women, and children."

The men, who were part of a group which called themselves the "Crusaders", were arrested following an eight month investigation by the FBI.

In pictures: New York bomb explosion Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: New York bomb explosion In pictures: New York bomb explosion A police robot accidentally detonated one of five explosive devices left outside a train station in New Jersey. Officials said the bomb squad robot cut a wire on the mechanism in a bid to defuse it - but instead set off an explosion. The device had been left in a backpack and placed in a bin outside the train station in Elizabeth Universal News And Sport (Europe In pictures: New York bomb explosion A member of the New York City Police Department stands guard in Herald Square Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (3-R) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (2-R) tour the site of an explosion that occurred in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tour the site of an explosion that occurred in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York on September 18, 2016. The bomb that exploded in New York AFP/Getty In pictures: New York bomb explosion A genral view down the street near the site of an explosion that occurred in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York AFP/Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (L) and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hug after touring the site of the bomb blast on 23rd St. in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion A mangled dumpster sits on the sidewalk at the site of an explosion that occurred in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion An explosion in a construction dumpster that injured 29 people is being labeled an "intentional act". A second device, a pressure cooker, was found four blocks away that an early investigation found was likely also a bomb Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (2-R) and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (3-R) stand in front of a mangled dumpster while touring the site of an explosion that occurred in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion A member of the New York City Police Department K-9 Unit patrols on a subway train between Grand Central Terminal and Times Square Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion FBI agents review the crime scene of remnants of bomb debris on 23rd St. in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion Members of the NYPD, FBI, ATF and other agencies investigate the the scene, following a late night explosion on West 23rd Street in New York AFP/Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials mark the ground near the site of an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood REUTERS In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, right, walks from the scene of an explosion on West 23rd street in Manhattan AP In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers stand near the site of an explosion REUTERS In pictures: New York bomb explosion Evidence markers on the street surround police and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials near the site REUTERS In pictures: New York bomb explosion A fire truck is seen near a blocked off road near the site of an alleged bomb explosion on West 23rd Street AFP/Getty Images In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York City firefighters stand near the site of the explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood REUTERS In pictures: New York bomb explosion A New York City Police emergency services officer and his dog check a bin close to the scene EPA In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York City Police and Fire Department at the scene of the explosion EPA In pictures: New York bomb explosion A New York City firefighter uses a wheeled stretcher to carry supplies near the site of the explosion REUTERS In pictures: New York bomb explosion A New York City Police emergency service heavy weapons officer guards close to the scene of the explosion on 23rd Street between 6th and 7th Avenue EPA In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, and NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill, center right, speak during a press conference near the scene AP In pictures: New York bomb explosion New York City Police Emergency Services units are deployed on 27th Street and 7th Avenue where police found a second explosive device EPA In pictures: New York bomb explosion Police investigators look through the debris on the street in front of St. Vincent de Paul church where the explosion occurred EPA

In addition to discussing raping women and murdering children, the men conducted armed surveillance on the potential target, which housed a mosque, according to the complaint filed against them.

They also stockpiled firearms, ammunition and bomb parts, the complaint said, for the attack, which was intended to “wake people up”.

“This plot is an affront to all Americans," Ms Clinton continued. "We all must stand firm in fighting terror and rejecting hateful and divisive rhetoric – and we must do it together. According to the FBI, their eight-month investigation uncovered ‘a hidden culture of hatred and violence.’

“We should all be grateful to law enforcement for preventing this plot from being carried out."

Ms Clinton said that if elected president, she would work with law enforcement and communities to "prevent both domestic and international terrorist threats."