Members of neo-Nazi group charged with plot to threaten journalists and activists – By Zachary Halaschak (Washington Examiner) / Feb 26 2020
The FBI has arrested five people it said are part of a white supremacist group that conspired to intimidate journalists and activists.
The Justice Department announced charges on Wednesday against 24-year-old Cameron Shea of Washington, Kaleb Cole, 24, of Texas, Taylor Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Texas, and 20-year-old Johnny Garza of Arizona. The four were charged in Seattle federal court with conspiracy to mail threatening communications and to commit cyberstalking. A fifth man, John Denton of Texas, was charged in Alexandria federal court.
According to court documents, the individuals were members of the white supremacist group Atomwaffen Division. Denton and Cole are the alleged leaders of Atomwaffen Division, a Nazi group that promotes anti-Semitism, racial cleansing, and violence.
Prosecutors said that Denton directed the group to harass a ProPublica reporter and call in a fake threat that caused authorities to storm his office in an overwhelming show of force, a tactic known as “swatting.” Members also allegedly told police the reporter had killed his wife and then provided his home address, prompting a similar response from law enforcement.
According to court documents, Cole and Shea came up with a plan called “Operation Erste Saule,” which targeted journalists for harassment and threats. “Erste saule” is German for “first pillar,” which the Shea named after “the first pillar of stat[e] power, aka the media.”
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