The U.S. Attorney’s Office reported the former leader the White Supremacist group Kuerkrieg Division was arrested for sending online death threats to a journalist reporting on his group.
Nicholas Welker, 31, of San Jose, Calif., was arrested based on a complaint from the Brooklyn federal court that said the former leader of the Fuerkrieg Division made death threats against a journalist from Brooklyn online, according to a March 21 news release. Welker, who is also known as “King ov Wrath,” posted the threats in an online forum while his co-conspirators — a pair of minors — took to Twitter to make death threats for reporting on FKD.
“As alleged, Nicholas Welker used threats of violence in an effort to stop a journalist from reporting on the white supremacist hate group that he led,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, of the Eastern District of New York, said in the release. “He sought to quell freedom of expression and to intimidate and instill fear in a journalist and the journalist’s employer — a well-known news media organization. We will not hesitate to prosecute those who threaten the core values on which our society was founded, including freedom of the press.”
According to the release, the threat involved an image with a gun pointed at the unnamed journalist’s head with the words “Race Traitor” covering the journalist’s eyes. It also included the words “JOURNALIST F*** OFF! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!”
Peace said it was the “outstanding investigative work” of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force that led to the arrest, the release reported. They worked alongside the New York City Police Department and 50 federal, state and local agencies. The FBI’s San Francisco field office also helped with the investigation. Peace praised the Estonian Internal Security Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the prosecutor’s office.
Welker was alleged to be the leader of the extremist group who want to “challenge laws, social order and the government via terrorism and other violent acts.” They reportedly encourage attacking racial minorities, Jews, the LGBTQ+ community, U.S. government officials, media and other essential infrastructure. Members can be found both domestically and internationally, according to the release.
“As alleged, Mr. Welker and those he encouraged attempted to silence a journalist with threats of violence,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael Driscoll said in the release. "Freedom of both speech and the press are integral to our nation, and we will not allow it to be restricted through violence or intimidation. Today’s action serves as a reminder to anyone willing to attack these rights — the FBI will do everything in our power to fulfill our mission of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution.”
Welker is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the release reported. The National Security and Cybercrime Division is handling the case. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty.
