4 Arrested After Neo-Nazis Target Journalists, Activists: FBI

SEATTLE, WA — The FBI has arrested four people it described as "violent extremists" after threatening mailers were sent in four states, including Washington, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. At least three residents in Seattle, Edmonds and Mercer Island were targeted.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force — a partnership among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies — carried out coordinated arrests and served search warrants in Washington, Texas, Arizona and Florida.

The U.S. Department of Justice identified the four defendants in a news release Wednesday and said they were members of the hate group Atomwaffen Division:

• Cameron Brandon Shea, 24, of Redmond, Washington
• Kaleb Cole, 24, of Montgomery, Texas
• Taylor Ashley Parker-Dipeppe, 20, of Spring Hill, Florida
• Johnny Roman Garza, 20, of Queen Creek, Arizona

"These neo-Nazis call their group Atomwaffen, which is the German phrase for 'atomic weapon,'" said Brian T. Moran, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington. "They vow to accelerate the collapse of civilization using violence, mass murder, hate and threats."

ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism organization, reported in 2018 that Washington had one of the largest Atomwaffen chapters in the nation.

According to KING 5, the FBI arrested Shea Wednesday morning in Kirkland. The television station said one of the threatening letters was sent to Chris Ingalls, a KING 5 investigative reporter who produced several pieces related to the group last year.

Ingalls had visited the Arlington home of Kaleb Cole, one of the group's suspected leaders, in October after law enforcement seized nine guns under an "extreme risk protection order." According to an affidavit filed Wednesday, Cole has since relocated to Texas.

The Seattle Times reports the mailed threats were accompanied by racist and anti-Semitic imagery. A copy of an FBI report obtained by the Times shows a flyer mailed to a Mercer Island resident, which says "your actions have consequences," and "our patience has its limits."

A criminal complaint features redacted copies of three mailers, which investigators said included the victims' names and addresses posted underneath images containing swastikas. One flyer featured a drawing of a man with a press badge and included the text "two can play at this game" and "death to pigs."

"Imagine waking up some morning and finding this at your house," Moran said.

According to court filings, the four suspects conspired on an encrypted chat app called Wire to share the flyers and identify the locations of their targets. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the group focused primarily on Jewish people, journalists and activists. In Washington, investigators said mailers were sent to two people associated with the Anti-Defamation League.

"The FBI recognizes all citizens' First Amendment-protected rights," said Ray Duda, FBI Seattle's special agent in charge. "However, the subjects arrested today crossed the line from protected ideas and speech to illegal acts of intimidation and coercion against the individuals that they perceived as a threat to their ideology of hate."

"If the objective of these subjects was to send a message intimidating the recipients into silence, to them I'd say the FBI has our own message for you: We will not stand by idly while you attempt to undermine the freedoms for which our nation stands," Duda said.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said all four defendants would face prosecution at the U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Authorities said a fifth Atomwaffen member was arrested Wednesday in Texas, accused of helping conduct a swatting operation between Nov. 2018 and April 2019. John Denton, 26, will face prosecution from the U.S. Attorney's Office in the eastern district of Virginia.

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