“Posters were delivered to Atomwaffen members, and co-conspirators delivered or mailed the posters to journalists or activists the group was targeting,” says the Justice Department.
By David Jablinowitz, World Israel News
The U.S. Justice Department says that a number of suspects from across the country linked to a neo-Nazi terrorist network have been charged for alleged threats and intimidation of primarily Jews and journalists of color and individuals who had exposed the neo-Nazi activities.
“Four racially motivated violent extremists from across the U.S. were arrested and charged” with a “conspiracy to threaten and intimidate journalists and activists,” the Justice Department announced in a statement on Wednesday.
The indictment was issued to the U.S District Court in Seattle, the department added.
“The group focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color,” said the statement.
The defendants charged in the conspiracy were identified as Cameron Brandon Shea, 24, of Redmond, Washington; Kaleb Cole, 24, of Montgomery, Texas; Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Spring Hill, Florida; and, Johnny Roman Garza, 20, of Queen Creek, Arizona.
“Cole and Shea created the posters, which included Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening language,” said the Justice Department.
“The posters were delivered to [neo-Nazi] Atomwaffen members electronically, and the co-conspirators printed and delivered or mailed the posters to journalists or activists the group was targeting,” according to the statement.
It added that “in the Seattle area, the posters were mailed to a TV journalist who had reported on Atomwaffen and to two individuals associated with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In Tampa, the group targeted a journalist but delivered the poster to the wrong address. In Phoenix, the poster was delivered to a magazine journalist.”
The Atomwaffen is reported, according to the ADL and other sources, as having been based in the southern U.S. but then expanding across the country, as well as into Canada and various European countries.
“These defendants from across the country allegedly conspired on the internet to intimidate journalists and activists with whom they disagreed,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers. “This is not how America works. The Department of Justice will not tolerate this type of behavior.”
“These defendants sought to spread fear and terror with threats delivered to the doorstep of those who are critical of their activities,” said U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran for the Western District of Washington State.
“The FBI recognizes all citizens’ First Amendment-protected rights. However, the subjects arrested today crossed the line from protected ideas and speech to action in order to intimidate and coerce individuals who they perceived as a threat to their ideology of hate,” said Raymond Duda, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Seattle.