On Wednesday, the FBI and several local law enforcement agencies arrested four “racially motivated violent extremists” accused of conspiring to intimidate journalists and activists across the country.
The suspects were charged with conspiracy in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Wednesday. Those charged are 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, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Authorities believed the suspects conspired, by means of an encrypted online chat group, to identify journalists and others they wanted to intimidate, according to the criminal complaint. The group allegedly focused primarily on those who are Jewish or journalists of color. Authorities believe Cole and Shea created the posters, which included Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening language.
The posters were delivered to members of Atomwaffen, a neo-Nazi terrorist network, electronically, and the alleged co-conspirators printed and delivered or mailed the posters to journalists or activists the group was targeting. In the Seattle area, the posters were reportedly 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 allegedly targeted a journalist but delivered the poster to the wrong address. In Phoenix, the poster was delivered to a magazine journalist.
“These defendants sought to spread fear and terror with threats delivered to the doorstep of those who are critical of their activities,” U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran for the Western District of Washington said in a statement. “As Attorney General William Barr has made clear, rooting out anti-Semitic hate and threats of violence and vigorously prosecuting those responsible are top priorities for the Department of Justice.”
In addition to the FBI, local law enforcement are being coordinated by the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Seattle, Tampa, Houston, and Phoenix to help search for and arrest the suspects.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Woods with assistance from U.S. Attorneys Offices in the Middle District of Florida, Southern District of Texas, District of Arizona and Central District of California.
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