The Atomwaffen Division, a white supremacist group based in the United States, has been banned by the government of the United Kingdom, making belonging to or promoting the group a crime, iNews reports.
This marks the fourth neo-Nazi group banned in the British Home Office, who have previously outlawed National Action, Sonnenkrieg Division and Feuerkrieg Division. Joining one of these groups can lead to a ten-year prison sentence.
“Atomwaffen Division claimed it had disbanded in March 2020 following pressure from US law enforcement agencies, but, in July 2020, National Socialist Order announced itself online as its ‘successor’,” Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Vile and racist white supremacist groups like this exist to spread hate, sow division and advocate the use of violence to further their sick ideologies.”
Members of the Atomwaffen Division is linked to five murders in the United States. Two weeks ago, 25-year-old Cameron Shea, the self-declared leader of the group, pleaded guilty to hate crimes and conspiracy charges for threats against journalists and civil rights groups, according to a Justice Department release.