Former neo-Nazi leader who targeted Schenectady church sentenced
John C. Denton was involved in massive swatting scheme that involved Stockade congregation
Matthew Barakat, Associated Press
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In an undated image provided by the Alexandria Sheriff s Office, John Cameron Denton, 27, of Montgomery, Texas, a former leader of the Atomwaffen Division, a paramilitary neo-Nazi group. Denton was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Tuesday, May 4, 2021, for his role in a “swatting” scheme whose targets included journalists, a sitting cabinet secretary and a predominantly Black church, federal prosecutors said. A progressive church in Schenectady s Stockade neighborhood was also targeted. (Alexandria Sheriff s Office via The New York Times) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. ALEXANDRIA SHERIFF S OFFICE/New York TimesShow MoreShow Less
Ex-leader of neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division sentenced for swatting
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May 4 (UPI) A former leader of a neo-Nazi group was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in prison for his role in a swatting scheme that targeted journalists who reported on his organization as well as a Virginia university, a historic African American church and others.
John Cameron Denton, 27, of Montgomery, Texas, was a leader of his state s Atomwaffen Division, which the Anti-Defamation League describes as a group whose members, some of who have been linked to murder cases and alleged plots to attack civilians, are preparing for a race war.
Neo-Nazi who played role in ‘swatting’ plot that targeted Arlington mosque gets prison time
John Cameron Denton, 27, of the Houston area will spend more than three years in federal prison for taking part in a nationwide harassment campaign against minorities and others that involved calling in bomb and mass murder threats.
Dar El-Eman Islamic Center on Mansfield Road in Arlington.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
3:24 PM on May 4, 2021 CDT
Police officers were speaking to the congregation at the Dar El-Eman Islamic Center in Arlington during a family-night event when panic swept across the gathering.
Someone had called 911 from a blocked number claiming to have a pipe bomb. The caller said he was going to kill everyone inside the mosque during the November 2018 incident. The bomb threat turned out to be a “swatting call” a dangerous form of harassment intended to get police SWAT units to respond to a target’s location.
UpdatedTue, May 4, 2021 at 3:57 pm ET
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A man was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in a swatting scheme, involving fake threats called into targets such as Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria. (Emily Leayman/Patch)
ALEXANDRIA, VA A former leader of a Neo-Nazi organization was sentenced Tuesday in federal court to 41 months in prison for his role in a swatting scheme targeting an Alexandria location and others.
John Cameron Denton, 27, of Montgomery, Texas, the former leader of the Atomwaffen Division in Texas, participated in a swatting scheme that targeted 134 different locations in the U.S., according to prosecutors. Swatting is defined as a harassment tactic that involves calling in fake emergencies to send police and emergency services to a target s address. Prosecutors believe Denton and co-conspirators chose targets motivated by racial prejudice.
The sentence comes two months after another man was ordered to serve 33 months in prison for managing the chat room where the crimes were organized.
John Cameron Denton speaks to the crew of a 2018 PBS Frontline documentary examining American hate groups in Texas. (Image courtesy of PBS Frontline)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (CN) A Texas man known as the former leader of a neo-Nazi extremist group was sentenced Tuesday to 41 months in prison for making fake emergency calls targeting journalists, minorities and elected officials.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, John Cameron Denton, 27, of Montgomery, Texas, ran a local branch of the Atomwaffen Division, an international white supremacist group linked to arms dealing, murder and other crimes.