PHOENIX — A federal judge ruled Monday that an Arizona man will remain jailed on a charge that he and other neo-Nazis mounted a harassment campaign, mailing and posting threatening messages, at the homes of journalists and anti-hate advocates in three states.
Johnny Roman Garza, 20, of Queen Creek poses a danger to the community, Magistrate Judge John Boyle said.
The judge expressed skepticism about Garza’s claim to have severed his ties with the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division and noted that officers found a bulletproof vest during a search of Garza’s home. “That’s not something a 20-year-old would normally have,” Boyle said.
Garza and three other Atomwaffen Division members are expected to be sent to Washington to face a charge of conspiring to send threatening mail and commit cyberstalking. None of the four men has yet entered a plea.
Authorities said the goal of the campaign was to intimidate and retaliate against journalists for unfavorable reporting. One of the alleged leaders of the conspiracy is accused of calling for a campaign of threats against journalists after he was identified in a 2018 Seattle Times story as being an Atomwaffen Division member.
Garza and an unidentified person are accused of gluing a poster about a month ago to a bedroom window at the home of Mala Blomquist, an editor for Arizona Jewish Life magazine. The poster listed her name and said, “Your Actions Have Consequences.”
Blomquist said she doesn’t know why she would land on the group’s radar. She is not Jewish, doesn’t live in a Jewish neighborhood and the magazine has never written about neo-Nazism.
Before going to Blomquist’s home, the FBI said Garza and the unidentified person went to a Phoenix apartment complex where a member of the Arizona Association of Black Journalists lives, though no threatening message was posted there.
Prosecutor Lisa Jennis, who noted a Nazi uniform was found at Garza’s home, described Garza’s role in the conspiracy as a coordinator, not a mere follower. “He wanted to linger in the amusement of someone not liking him,” Jennis said.
Garza’s attorney, Richard Suzuki, said his client has sworn off the Atomwaffen Division after he posted the threatening poster at Blomquist’s home and planned to attend college next fall. He said Garza was remorseful.
Suzuki noted Garza is a U.S. citizen of Mexican heritage. “It’s really puzzling how he got trapped in this type of environment,” Suzuki said.
