The Gen Z leader of the Neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division was recently sentenced for a hate crime.
Cameron Shea was charged with federal conspiracy and hate crime for threatening journalists and advocates who worked to expose anti-Semitism and was sentenced to three years in prison.
Shea and three co-defendants targeted journalists who are Jewish or people of color in retaliation for their work of exposing anti-Semitism. The group created posters that included Nazi symbols, masked figures with guns and Molotov cocktails, and threatening messages.
“This hate-filled conduct strikes at the heart of our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney, Tessa Gorman. “This defendant’s goal was to make people fearful in their own homes, and he recruited and cheered on others who joined his sick scheme. This federal prison sentence underscores the human damage from his crimes,” stated Gorman.
According to the FBI, there were 7,103 single-bias incidents of hate crimes in 2019. That is 67 more than the reports in 2018. Hate crimes are increasing while recruitment ages for hate groups are decreasing.
The Washington Post reported that white supremacists groups are targeting children as young as 11 to join. Even though Gen Z is known for its strides in social justice, hate groups are strategically working against that progress. There is still much work to be done combatting conspiracy theorists, extremists, and discrimination in the younger generation.