John Cameron Denton, the former leader of the Atomwaffen Division’s Texas chapter, was sentenced in May 2021 to 41 months in federal prison for his role in a nationwide swatting conspiracy that placed fake emergency calls to at least 134 locations, including a historically Black church, journalists who had exposed him, and the home of the sitting Secretary of Homeland Security. He pleaded guilty in July 2020 to conspiracy to make interstate threats and admitted his actions were motivated by racial animus and white supremacist views.1U.S. Department of Justice. Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Pleads Guilty to Swatting Conspiracy
Who John Cameron Denton Is
Denton, born around 1993 or 1994, lived in Montgomery, Texas at the time of his arrest. He joined the Atomwaffen Division in 2016 and rose to lead its Texas chapter. AWD, founded by Brandon Russell in 2015, was a neo-Nazi organization rooted in James Mason’s book Siege, which calls for an all-white ethnostate achieved through terrorism and the collapse of democratic government. Denton claimed to own the distribution rights to Siege and to other writings by Mason.2Counter Extremism Project. John Cameron Denton
How the Swatting Ring Operated
Swatting is the placement of a fraudulent emergency call, usually reporting a violent crime in progress, to provoke a heavy armed police response at the victim’s location. Between October 2018 and February 2019, Denton and his co-conspirators carried out swatting attacks on at least 134 different locations across the United States, using dark web channels, voice-over-IP technology, and voice changers to fool dispatchers with false reports of pipe bombs, hostage situations, and active shooters.3U.S. Department of Justice. Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Sentenced for Swatting Conspiracy
The group coordinated on a private Internet Relay Chat channel called “Graveyard,” run by co-conspirator John William Kirby Kelley, then a student at Old Dominion University. Participants picked targets, traded techniques, and openly voiced hatred toward Black people, Jewish people, and other minorities.4George Washington University Program on Extremism. John William Kirby Kelley Government Sentencing Memorandum
Who Was Targeted
The victims were chosen for who they were. On November 3, 2018, a caller reported pipe bombs at Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia during evening worship. The historic church was picked because its congregation is predominantly African American. Worshippers sheltered in place while officers closed surrounding streets and searched the building; no threat was found.5ALXnow. Man Sentenced 41 Months for Targeting Alfred Street Baptist Church, Journalists and Others in Swatting Conspiracy
Old Dominion University was swatted twice, on November 29 and December 4, 2018. Kelley suggested his own school because he did not want to go to class. The November 29 caller claimed to be armed with an AR-15 and to have placed pipe bombs across campus. The university issued a shelter-in-place order, called in every available officer, put the Norfolk Police SWAT team on standby, and searched every building before reopening.6U.S. Department of Justice. Former Old Dominion University Student Pleads Guilty to Swatting Conspiracy
In January 2019, a caller targeted the Alexandria home of then-DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, claiming he had shot his girlfriend, tied up her children, and was prepared to detonate a bomb. The Secret Service identified the call as a hoax before local police responded.7NBC News. Neo-Nazi Charged in Swatting Scheme That Targeted Former DHS Chief Kirstjen Nielsen
Denton personally chose the New York City offices of the investigative outlet ProPublica and a journalist associated with it, retaliating for reporting that had exposed his real identity and his role in Atomwaffen. Other targets included an Islamic center in Arlington, Texas, and additional individuals and institutions selected because of the conspirators’ hatred of racial minorities, the Jewish community, and the LGBTQ community.3U.S. Department of Justice. Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Sentenced for Swatting Conspiracy
The Undercover Meeting and Arrest
During the FBI investigation, agents arranged for Denton to meet with an undercover officer. Denton discussed his role in the conspiracy, admitted using a voice changer during the calls, and confessed to personally targeting ProPublica. He also told the officer he believed his arrest could “benefit the Atomwaffen Division” and would be viewed as a “top-tier crime.”3U.S. Department of Justice. Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Sentenced for Swatting Conspiracy He was arrested in Montgomery, Texas on February 26, 2020, and charged in the Eastern District of Virginia with conspiracy and interstate threats to injure.2Counter Extremism Project. John Cameron Denton
Guilty Plea and Sentence
On July 14, 2020, Denton pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady to conspiracy to make interstate threats. In the plea, he admitted his actions were “motivated by racial animus” and that he held “white supremacist views.”8Washington Post. Member of Neo-Nazi Group Pleads Guilty to Swatting Conspiracy of Journalists, Minorities
Judge O’Grady sentenced Denton on May 4, 2021 to 41 months in federal prison. He was also ordered to pay restitution to police departments in New York and Richmond, California, which had diverted resources to respond to the hoax calls.2Counter Extremism Project. John Cameron Denton
Acting U.S. Attorney Raj Parekh said the conspiracy “terrorized communities across our Nation” and “caused irreversible trauma to the victims of these hate-based crimes.” Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Timothy Thibault said “Denton’s swatting activities were not harmless pranks; he carefully chose his targets to antagonize and harass religious and racial communities, journalists, and others against whom he held a bias or grievance.”3U.S. Department of Justice. Former Atomwaffen Division Leader Sentenced for Swatting Conspiracy
Co-Conspirators
Denton and Kelley were the only two adults in the United States charged in the swatting conspiracy. Kelley pleaded guilty to the same charges and was sentenced to 33 months in March 2021, with hate crime and official victim enhancements applied to his sentence.9WTKR. Former Old Dominion University Student to Serve Nearly Three Years in Prison for Swatting Conspiracy
Other Graveyard participants included a Canadian citizen, a British citizen, and an American teenager from West Virginia who admitted to white nationalist views and who specifically chose the Alfred Street Baptist Church because its congregation was predominantly Black. The juvenile was not charged federally because of his age, and the foreign participants fell outside U.S. jurisdiction.10George Washington University Program on Extremism. John William Kirby Kelley Defense Sentencing Memorandum