Prosecutors seek 5-year term for ex-leader of neo-Nazi group

Federal prosecutors in Virginia are seeking a five-year prison sentence for a former neo-Nazi group leader who pleaded guilty to conspiring with other far-right extremists to threaten dozens of targets, including a predominantly African American church, a sitting U.S. Cabinet member and journalists.

John Cameron Denton, of Montgomery, Texas, and others involved in the plot made at least 134 threats to injure people and institutions, often for racist reasons, Justice Department prosecutors wrote in a court filing last Wednesday. They said Denton participated in "the most far-reaching swatting conspiracy in our nation to date," referring to hoax calls made to fool emergency dispatchers into sending police to the addresses of unsuspecting victims.