According to the U.S. Justice Department, a Michigan man was sentenced to more than two years in prison on Tuesday for his involvement in a White supremacist organization that targeted Black and Jewish individuals as well as for his Nazi swastika defacement of a Jewish temple.
The Justice Department said on Tuesday that Nathan Weeden, 24, had been sentenced to 26 months in jail, followed by three years of supervised release.
He was found guilty in January on one count of purposely defacing, damaging, or destroying religious property based on racial or ethnic characteristics and one count of plotting to harm, oppress, threaten, or intimidate.
Weeden was found guilty of plotting alongside Wisconsin’s Yousef Barasneh and New Jersey’s Richard Tobin. To counts of federal conspiracy, both entered guilty pleas.
“This sentence sends a strong message that threatening and intimidating people because of their religion, race or ethnic characteristics will not be tolerated in this country,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, stated.
“White supremacist-fueled violence is a stain on our history and perpetrators of such violence will be held accountable,” Clarke continued.
Weeden, Tobin, and Barasneh—members of the White nationalist group The Base—discussed damaging Black and Jewish American property using an encrypted chat channel, according to court filings.
Read Also: 3-Year-Old Son of Rodeo Star Dies Following Life Support Removal After Near-Drowning
“Operation Kristallnacht,” which translates to “Night of Broken Glass” and refers to the 1938 events when Nazis murdered Jews and destroyed their homes, shops, synagogues, and schools, is what Weeden and his accomplices named their plot, according to the Justice Department.
According to court filings, Weeden spray-painted swastikas and other symbols connected to the White nationalist organization on the walls of Temple Jacob in Hancock a few days later.
According to James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Detroit, “Accountability matters.”
“Today’s sentence is representative of our community’s views on hate crime-inspired violence. People who engage in this behavior will be identified and fully prosecuted by the law.”
