Judge Says Neo-Nazi Who Made Bombs And Read Hitler ‘Not A Threat’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Sam Kestenbaum June 12, 2017
A suspected neo-Nazi with explosives who idolizes Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and reads Hitler is not a threat to society, a judge ruled Friday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas McCoun rejected the government’s argument that Brandon Russell should be held in jail because he “poses a threat to the community or is likely to flee if released,” the Tampa Bay Times reported.
“I am unable to conclude there is clear and convincing evidence that Defendant represents a threat to any other person,” the judge wrote.
Russell is facing charges after the May 19 discovery of bomb-making materials in his apartment. Police found the items during a search of his apartment in relation to another investigation. Russell’s roommate, Devon Arthurs, shot and killed their other two roommates. Arthurs reportedly did this after his conversion to Islam.
Authorities found copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf in the apartment as well as the The Turner Diaries, an iconic white nationalist novel.
Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @skestenbaum
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
