Member of neo-Nazi group sentenced for plot to threaten journalists, advocates in NW

A federal judge in Seattle has sentenced a man for his role in a campaign of intimidation against journalists.

The plot was orchestrated by a group of neo-Nazis that spans the nation, and includes two men with ties to western Washington.

Johnny Roman Garza, 21, of Arizona, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 16 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Garza pleaded guilty to taking part in a plot devised by members of the group Atomwaffen Division to deliver threatening posters to journalists and advocates for minority groups, including some in the Seattle area.

Garza is one of four men indicted in February for the plot, and one of two who have pleaded guilty so far. Garza pleaded guilty to conspiracy to send threatening communications, stalking, and interfering with federally protected activities. The effort forced one journalist to temporarily move out of his home. The investigation into the matter included the FBI's Seattle office and the Seattle Police Department.

Locally, the plot targeted members of the Anti-Defamation League and a KING5 reporter who had covered the group's firearms training camps in western Washington (held near Concrete).

According to the Department of Justice:

In his plea agreement, Garza admitted that he conspired with the other defendants via an encrypted online chat group to identify journalists and advocates to threaten in retaliation for the victims’ work exposing anti-Semitism. The group focused primarily on journalists and advocates who were Jewish or people of color. In a message to the other co-defendants, Garza explained that the plot was designed to “have them all wake up one morning and find themselves terrorized by targeted propaganda.” On the night of Jan. 25, 2020, Garza placed a poster on the bedroom window of a prominent Jewish journalist that depicted a figure in a skull mask holding a Molotov cocktail in front of a burning home. The poster contained the victim’s name and address, and warned, “Your actions have consequences. Our patience has its limits . . . You have been visited by your local Nazis.”

“While this defendant did not hatch this disturbing plot, he enthusiastically embraced it, researching addresses for journalists and those who oppose hate in our communities,” said Brian T. Moran U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. “Ultimately in the dark of night he delivered a hateful, threatening poster -- spreading fear and anxiety. Such conduct has no place in our community.”

Western Washington connections

The plot was "hatched" by Atomwaffen Division (German for "atomic weapon"), whose leader is reportedly Kaleb Cole. Cole has been charged in connection to the plot. Cameron Brandon Shea has also been charged. Shea is from Redmond and worked in Kirkland. Both Shea and Cole are slated for trial in March 2021. Both are accused of creating posters for the threatening campaign.

Cole made headlines in 2019 when police raided his Snohomish County home and seized a collection of guns. He was later arrested in Texas after he was pulled over with a fellow Atomwaffen member in a vehicle that also contained firearms.

Seattle Attorney Pete Holmes noted in 2019, after Cole's firearms were seized by police, that Cole recruited for the neo-Nazi group and participated in trainings for attacks. Attomwaffen promotes a violent ideology that encourages a race war. Its members have been linked to, and charged with, a number of crimes, including murder.

Fourth member of the group is accused of participating in the plot and has also pleaded guilty.

Dyer Oxley contributed to this report.