A 23-year-old man from Houghton, Michigan has been sentenced to 26 months in prison for his role in a white supremacist group’s plot to victimize Black and Jewish people.
Nathan Weeden, 23, was found guilty of conspiring to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in the exercise of their rights and intentionally defacing, damaging or destroying religious property because of the race or ethnic characteristics of individuals associated with that property.
The crimes were committed in September 2019 when Weeden, along with co-conspirators Richard Tobin and Yousef Barasneh, used an encrypted messaging platform to discuss vandalizing property associated with African Americans and Jewish Americans.
The group dubbed their plan, ‘Operation Kristallnacht,’ which referenced the 1938 Nazi attacks on Jewish communities in Germany. Weeden carried out the plan when he spray-painted swastikas and symbols associated with The Base on the outside walls of Temple Jacob, a Jewish synagogue in Hancock, Michigan.
U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said the sentencing sends a strong message that hate will not be tolerated. ‘No one should be the target of hate because of their race, ethnicity, religion, or any other status.’
The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case and praised the sentence. ‘Accountability matters,’ said Special Agent in Charge James Deir of the ATF. ‘People who engage in this behavior will be identified and fully prosecuted by the law.’
Weeden’s co-conspirators Tobin and Barasneh were previously convicted of federal crimes in this incident. The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute those who desecrate houses of worship and who conspire to intimidate people seeking to exercise their legal rights.
The sentence sends a strong message that hate crimes and vandalism will not be tolerated in this country. The FBI is committed to combatting hate crimes and seeking justice for all. If you are a victim of or witness to a hate crime, call 1-800-225-5324 or submit a tip to tips.fbi.gov.
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Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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