Overview

Cameron Shea is an alleged member of the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group that grew out of a white supremacist forum called Iron March in 2016.“Atomwaffen Division (AWD),” Anti-Defamation League, https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/atomwaffen-division-awd. Shea was arrested in Seattle, Washington on February 26, 2020 on a conspiracy charge accusing him of sending threatening mail and cyberstalking. On April 7, 2021, Shea pleaded guilty federal conspiracy and hate crime charges and is still awaiting sentencing.“Leader of Neo-Nazi group ‘Atomwaffen’ pleads guilty to hate crime and conspiracy charges for threatening journalists and advocates,” U.S. Department of Justice, April 7, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/leader-neo-nazi-group-atomwaffen-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-and-conspiracy-charges.

According to media reports, Shea was an alleged high-ranking recruiter for Atomwaffen Division’s chapter in Washington.Ali Winston, “Atomwaffen Division’s Washington State Cell Leader Stripped of Arsenal in U.S., Banned from Canada,” The Daily Beast, October 19, 2020, https://www.thedailybeast.com/kaleb-james-cole-atomwaffen-divisions-washington-state-leader-stripped-of-arsenal-in-us-banned-from-canada. Atomwaffen Division describes itself as a revolutionary socialist organization centered on political activism seeking to put an end to the “cultural and racial displacement of the white race.”“Atomwaffen Division (AWD),” Anti-Defamation League, https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/atomwaffen-division-awd.

Shea and the leader of Atomwaffen Division’s Washington chapter, Kaleb Cole, were the primary organizers of an operation they dubbed Erste Saule. Translated to “first pillar” in German, Shea described the operation as a way to target “journalists houses and media buildings to send a clear message.”Mike Baker, Adam Goldman and Neil MacFarquhar, “White Supremacists Targeted Journalists and a Trump Official, F.B.I. Says,” New York Times, February 26, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/us/atomwaffen-division-arrests.html. Primarily seeking to target black or Jewish journalists, Shea and Cole sought to make their victims feel “terrorized.” The goal, Shea claimed, was to “erode the media/states air of legitimacy by showing people that they have names and addresses, and hopefully embolden others to act.”Mike Baker, Adam Goldman and Neil MacFarquhar, “White Supremacists Targeted Journalists and a Trump Official, F.B.I. Says,” New York Times, February 26, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/us/atomwaffen-division-arrests.html.

It is suspected that Operation Erste Saule was carried out around January 25, 2020.Mike Carter, “FBI arrests ‘violent extremists’ after threatening posters sent to minorities, journalist,” Seattle Times, February 26, 2020, https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/nation/fbi-arrests-violent-extremists-after-threatening-posters-sent-to-minorities/article_8ce505b3-a230-588c-be0c-c5ef1a543723.html. Cole and Shea created a variety of posters that included offensive imagery and threatening language that was to be delivered or mailed to their targets. Imagery included Nazi symbols and masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails. Targets included a broadcast journalist in Seattle and two people associated with the Anti-Defamation League, an anti-hate organization with a mission to protect the Jewish community. The targets were chosen in retaliation for reporting and exposing information on Atomwaffen Division.“Arrests in four states of racially motivated violent extremists targeting journalists and activists,” U.S. Department of Justice, February 26, 2020, https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/arrests-four-states-racially-motivated-violent-extremists-targeting-journalists-and.

On February 26, 2020, federal authorities arrested Shea and three other members of Atomwaffen Division. Each were charged with a single count of conspiracy to mail threatening communications and commit cyberstalking, an offense that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.Mike Carter, “FBI arrests ‘violent extremists’ after threatening posters sent to minorities, journalist,” Seattle Times, February 26, 2020, https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/nation/fbi-arrests-violent-extremists-after-threatening-posters-sent-to-minorities/article_8ce505b3-a230-588c-be0c-c5ef1a543723.html. On April 7, 2021, Shea pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and hate crime charges for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose antisemitism.“Leader of Neo-Nazi group ‘Atomwaffen’ pleads guilty to hate crime and conspiracy charges for threatening journalists and advocates,” U.S. Department of Justice, April 7, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdwa/pr/leader-neo-nazi-group-atomwaffen-pleads-guilty-hate-crime-and-conspiracy-charges. Shea is still awaiting sentencing.