Neo-Nazi leader convicted in plot to intimidate journalists

Kaleb Cole helped organize a campaign to send threatening posters to journalists and employees of the Anti-Defamation League.

NBC News/September 29, 2021

By Phil Helsel

A neo-Nazi leader behind a plot to threaten and intimidate journalists and people associated with the Anti-Defamation League was convicted of five federal charges Wednesday, prosecutors said.

Kaleb Cole, 25, who has been called the leader of a Washington state Atomwaffen group, was convicted by a jury after a two-day trial.

The plot involved sending posters with phrases including "You have been visited by your local Nazis." In one case, a poster was glued to the window of the Arizona home of an editor for a Jewish publication.

Cole was convicted of conspiracy, three counts of mailing threatening communications and one count of interfering with a federally protected activity, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington said.

Most of the counts carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Interfering with a federally protected activity carries up to 10 years.

Three other people previously pleaded guilty in the case. Cameron Shea, another Atomwaffen leader, was sentenced last month to three years in prison.

Two others in Arizona and Florida, who have renounced their past views and associations with the group, received lesser sentences. All four were arrested and charged last year.

Cole, who used to live in Washington, in 2019 had his guns seized under a "red flag" law after authorities said he appeared to be preparing for a "race war."

CORRECTION (Sept. 30, 2021, 8:51 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the first name of the man who was convicted Wednesday. He is Kaleb Cole, not Kalen.