Blotter: Updates On Extremism And The Law
Dec. 19
Self-professed Ku Klux Klan member Glendon Scott Crawford was sentenced by a federal judge in Albany, New York, to 30 years in prison after he was found guilty of conspiring with another man to build a radiation dispersal device, sometimes dubbed a “death ray” or a “dirty bomb,” against Muslims and Barack Obama. Dirty bombs combine radioactive material with conventional explosives. Crawford’s co-conspirator was sentenced to eight years and one month in prison.
Jan. 6
Law enforcement officials announced the seizure of 83 guns, 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 50 pounds of gunpowder and a helmet with a Nazi insignia from the home of a Lexington, Massachusetts, man who earlier in the week was arraigned on civil rights and harassment charges. The earlier charges against Robert Ivarson stemmed from his allegedly throwing banana peels onto the driveway of a black family living nearby. The weapons cache resulted in 13 additional charges.
Jan. 30
A former firearms dealer was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a federal judge in Brunswick, Georgia, after pleading guilty to illegally possessing guns he sold to federal agents. David J. Gould believed the agents were members of a militia organization that wanted to overthrow the government. Gouldoffered to provide the undercover agents with semi-automatic weapons and 10 pounds of marijuana a week, prosecutors said. Gould’s lawyer said her client was trying “to make money for his son’s college tuition.”
Feb. 6
A man who set fire to a Fort Pierce, Florida, mosque that Orlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen sometimes attended, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading no contest to the crime. Joseph Schreiber, who is Jewish, also was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution, although damages exceeded $100,000.
Feb. 7
Seven defendants, including members and associates of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas prison gang with monikers such as “Pretty Boy,” “Kilo” and “Whisper,” were sentenced by a federal court judge in Fort Worth, Texas, to prison sentences ranging from 25 years to life for their roles in a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that operated in North Texas for more than two years.
Feb. 16
A former Tennessee Valley Authority engineer was convicted in federal court in Chattanooga, Tennessee, of planning to attack a mosque in rural New York. Robert Doggart was recorded in phone conversations in which he discussed burning down a mosque at Islamberg and using assault rifles on any Muslims who opposed him or his militia. He was convicted on two of the four charges that carry a maximum sentence of 10 years each.
Feb. 21
A campaign manager and a political consultant for Michael Peroutka, an Anne Arundel County, Maryland, council member and former neo-Confederate League of the South member, were convicted of making illegal political robocalls about Peroutka’s election rival. Dennis Fusaro and Stephen Waters were sentenced to 30 days in jail, after falsely linking Peroutka’s gay opponent in a 2014 election to a “Bathroom Bill” that supported transgender rights. The call claimed it was authorized by “Marylanders for Transgenders,” a non-existent group. Peroutka denied knowing about the call and was not charged.
April 26
An Idaho man who pleaded guilty to a hate crime in the 2016 killing of a gay man was sentenced by a federal court judge in Boise, Idaho, to 28 years in prison. Kelly Schneider had been sentenced in state court earlier that month to life in prison for the murder of Steven Nelson. Schneider posted a solicitation ad online to meet the victim, then used steel-toed boots to kick the victim 20 to 30 times while he begged for his life, court documents stated. Three other men also were charged in the case.
