A leader of a neo-Nazi organization pleaded guilty to crimes related to threatening journalists and activists.
Cameron Shea, 25, the leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses against the United States: interference with federally protected activities because of religion, mailing threatening communications, and cyberstalking for threatening journalists and advocates. He and two other co-conspirators allegedly targeted people who work to expose anti-Semitism.
MEMBERS OF NEO-NAZI GROUP CHARGED WITH PLOT TO THREATEN JOURNALISTS AND ACTIVISTS
Shea will be sentenced on June 28 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for the hate crime charge and five years for the conspiracy charge, according to the Department of Justice.
Shea and his group threatened Jewish or journalists of color by delivering posters designed with Nazi symbols, guns, and Molotov cocktails with threatening messages written on them, prosecutors said. The group was also accused of delivering the posters to people on the same night in Tampa, Seattle, and Phoenix, which they said would be a “show of force.”
One poster was sent to an official at the Anti-Defamation League, an organization working to combat and raise awareness about anti-Semitism, and it depicted the Grim Reaper wearing a skeleton mask holding a Molotov cocktail with the words: “Our Patience Has Its Limits … You have been visited by your local Nazis.”
“The Justice Department will persist in our efforts to investigate and appropriately prosecute those who attack members of our communities, set fire to places of worship, or use the Internet to threaten bodily injury to other persons because of their real or perceived protected characteristics,” Attorney General Merrick Garland recently said.
Shea’s co-conspirators named in the statement were Kaleb Cole, 24, of Texas, Taylor Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Texas, and 20-year-old Johnny Garza of Arizona. Cole pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial, while Parker-Dipeppe and Garza both pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge and were sentenced.
Garza was sentenced to 16 months in jail while Parker-Dipeppe, who is transgender, was not sentenced to any jail time. The federal judge who opted not to sentence him to prison did so because the prosecutors said he was a “low level” party in the conspiracy. His lawyer argued at the time that jail would be traumatizing for Parker-Dipeppe because he suffered abuse from his father, stepfather, and school bullies for his gender identity, according to Metro Weekly.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Cole and Shea allegedly came up with a plan called “Operation Erste Saule,” which targeted journalists for harassment and threats. “Erste saule” is German for “first pillar,” which Shea named after “the first pillar of stat[e] power, aka the media,” according to court documents.
