A leader of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division has been sentenced to three years in prison for taking part in a campaign that threatened journalists and Jewish activists in three states who worked to expose anti-Semitism.
Cameron Shea was one of four members of the Washington state-based neo-Nazi group who last year were charged with cyberstalking for sending letters and posters featuring swastikas to journalists.
They also mailed threatening flyers to two employees of the Anti-Defamation League, reported the Associated Press.
The threatening communications included phrases such as “You have been visited by your local Nazis,” “Your actions have consequences,” and “We are watching.”
The posters also featured Nazi symbols, masked armed figures and Molotov cocktails.
Shea faced up to 15 years in prison.
In the sentencing brief, prosectors wrote: “The defendant wanted the victims to feel unsafe in their own homes.”
Shea, 25, of Richmond, Washington near Seattle, pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiring to commit three offenses: cyberstalking, interference with federally protected activities because of religion, and mailing threatening communications.
U.S. District Judge John Coughenour said in handing down Shea’s sentence on Tuesday that "this conduct cannot be tolerated. This kind of conduct has consequences.”
He added: “It is so serious that it requires a serious sentence."
Before Shea’s sentence was handed down, journalist Chris Ingalls, who was targeted by the neo-Nazi group, read a victim impact statement, reported King 5.
Eighteen months after the threatening letter was sent to Ingalls, he said that he was still dealing with the ramifications.
"I think in my personal life, it's changed a lot of things where I do feel like I have to look over my shoulder a bit more," said Ingalls.
The reporter went on to describe how he had to find a safe place for his family to hide after being threatened.
"I'm not paralyzed by fear, but I'm not stupid about it,” he said. “I realize I'm on a target list, somebody's target list."