A Washington state leader of the local Atomwaffen neo-Nazi group was convicted in federal court for attempts to intimidate journalists and people connected with the Anti-Defamation League, NBC News reports.
Twenty-five year old Kalen Cole was convicted of conspiracy, three counts of mailing threatening communications and one count of interfering with a federally protected activity in a trial in the Western District of Washington federal court. Each count can lead to a five-year sentence at least.
Along with three other people who have already pleaded guilty, Cole traveled to various places around the western US in efforts targeting primarily Jewish reporters. In one case, a poster with slogans including “You have been visited by your local Nazis” was glued to the window of the Arizona home of an editor for a Jewish publication.
Two of Cole’s group who pleaded guilty have renounced their affiliation with the neo-Nazi cause. The third, Cameron Shea, another Atomwaffen leader, was sentenced last month to three years in prison.