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NEW RESEARCH: A Case Study of Atomwaffen Division

In a new report, NCITE researcher Seamus Hughes and his team examine how a series of federal prosecutions have largely dismantled the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen. Read the report and listen to Hughes on the NCITE Insights podcast.

Illustration featuring a cut barbed-wire fence with warning signs and a shadowed figure crouching on the left, overlooking an industrial complex lit in red and orange tones at night. The text reads: 'NCITE - A DHS Center of Excellence' and 'New NCITE Report: A Case Study of Atomwaffen Division

In a new report, NCITE researchers Seamus Hughes, Brooke Buxton, Camden Carmichael, and Mackenzie Harms explore the Atomwaffen Division, an accelerationist, neo-fascist group that has been largely dismantled in the U.S. through a series of federal prosecutions.

Since 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted 20 members of Atomwaffen for a variety of federal crimes. Today, many of its remaining members have transitioned to other white supremacy groups or have left the movement entirely. The prosecution of Atomwaffen provides a unique opportunity to review the types of mostly non-terrorism-related federal charges brought against a distinct domestic terrorist organization and the legal consequences of being a violent adherent to the ideology.

Read the Report

A cover of the Atomwaffen report

NCITE Insights No. 20 – Prosecuting Domestic Terror: Atomwaffen Division

Interim host Blake Ursch speaks with Seamus Hughes, NCITE senior research faculty and policy associate, to examine Hughes' research on the prosecution of the domestic neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division. Hughes' team recently published a report on the group as a part of a larger NCITE project examining non-terrorism-related charges in U.S. federal terrorism cases.

Disclaimer: The views and conclusions contained in this podcast are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or views, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the University of Nebraska, or guest-affiliated institutions.

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