Atomwaffen Division, in particular, wanted members inside the military - specifically for the purposes of training in things like explosives (among others), and stealing arms and equipment.
Excerpt from the transcript of what Devon Arthurs told police interrogators about military training & targets in 2017 - after his arrest for the Tampa double murder at the house he shared with Atomwaffen founder Brandon Russell:
I'm going to Tweet the relevant selections from that 2017 police interrogation transcript out for you...
Just to drive the military point home a bit more.
"[Atomwaffen] were planning bombings and stuff like that on, on countless people. They were planning to kill civilian life…[targeting] power lines, nuclear reactors, synagogues…. They have a guy in the U.S. Army go, then re-enlisted specifically for the group."
-Arthurs, 2017
"He re-enlisted specifically for [Atomwaffen] to go into his ... supply room and steal stuff. Like, steal night-vision goggles. We have guys in the American military that literally would go to, go to, like, bases and steal huge amounts of equipment."
-Arthurs, 2017
Atomwaffen is FAR from the only Neo Nazi group to do things like this [infiltrate the military / law enforcement / steal military equipment, stockpile explosives, etc.].
There's a whole lot of material on AWD and military guys alone, but I don't have time to get deep into that now.
I'll just mention a couple busts related to them in recent years that seem...
...kinda sorta maybe perhaps oh who knows relevant (ish)
Brandon Russell (AWD founder):
- National Guard
- studied nuclear physics
Found in his bedroom:
- hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (Al Qaeda uses it)
- nitromethane and ammonium nitrate (OKC, y'all)
- thorium and americium (radioactive - because why not)
AWD's Jarrett Smith
- Specialist, US Army (tactical / combat training)
- Tried to fight with the Azov Battalion in Ukraine
Pled guilty in 2020 to:
- disseminating info on how to build explosives and weapons of mass destruction (etc)
I know some of you trying to knock down Telegram’s Neo Nazi channels mean well, but...
You’re not helping.
“Deplatforming works.” Well, yes.
But not sloppily applied, whole-scale, to minuscule platforms where content was followed basically only by already active extremists and ... the people fighting them.
Then all you’re do is hurt your own “side” in a misguided vanity campaign.
Anyway, crazy hectic day, on and in between deadlines, took a five minute break and found that a big pile of data with valuable, time-sensitive Intel had... evaporated because of a ban.
For organizations with employees targeted or threatened by neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other potpourri baskets filled with related and assorted violent extremists
[speaking from experience]
1) If you hire a person who works on neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other assorted violent extremists, here's the thing:
They WILL be targeted and threatened with violence - unless they're terrible at the job you hired them for.
If you won't support them, don't hire them.
2) If you want the "good PR" that comes with high-profile experts on neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and assorted violent extremists, you need to realize:
Your institution asked them to risk their lives.
That implies you will provide support and security - not penalties.