Former Texas Neo-Nazi Leader John Denton Arrested For Making Phony Bomb Threats
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A former neo-Nazi leader in Texas has been arrested and charged with making a series of phony bomb threats in Virginia.
John Cameron Denton of Montgomery, Texas, was arrested and charged related to his alleged role in a conspiracy that conducted a number of 'swatting' events. Swatting involves calling in fake emergencies to authorities to provoke a large law enforcement response.
Denton, 26, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Houston on Wednesday.
Prosecutors say the targets of the bogus threats, that happened between November 2018 and April 2019, included a predominantly African American church in Alexandria, an unidentified member of President Trump's Cabinet living in northern Virginia, and Old Dominion University.
Denton has been identified as a former leader of a group called Atomwaffen Division, which has been linked to multiple killings. According to the Anti-Defamation League Atomwaffen, which means atomic weapons in German, embraces Nazi ideology and preaches a hatred of minorities, gays and Jews. Authorities say the group is seeking to incite a race war.
Denton is charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, interstate threats to injure. If convicted he faces a maximum of five years in prison.
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