Michigan man convicted of white supremacist conspiracy and desecration of Jewish synagogue

June 4 (UPI) — A Michigan man was sentenced Tuesday to more than two years in prison for conspiring with a white supremacist group targeting blacks and Jews and defacing a Jewish synagogue with Nazi swastikas, according to the U.S. Department of Justice .

Nathan Weeden, 24, was sentenced to 26 months followed by three years of supervised release, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. He was convicted in January of one count of conspiracy to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate and one count of intentionally defacing, damaging or destroying religious property based on racial or ethnic characteristics.

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Weeden was convicted of conspiracy with Richard Tobin of New Jersey and Yousef Barasneh of Wisconsin. Both pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges.

“This sentencing sends a strong message that threatening and intimidating people based on their religion, race or ethnicity will not be tolerated in this country,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Division of Criminal Investigation. civil rights from the Department of Justice, in a press release.

“Violence fueled by white supremacy is a stain on our history and perpetrators of such violence will be held accountable,” Clarke added.

According to court documents, Weeden, Tobin and Barasneh — who were members of the white supremacist group The Base — used an encrypted messaging platform to discuss vandalism of property associated with Black and Jewish Americans.

The Justice Department said Weeden and his co-conspirators called their plan “Operation Kristallnacht,” meaning “Night of Broken Glass” in reference to the 1938 events in which the Nazis murdered Jews and destroyed their homes, their businesses, their schools and their synagogues.

Days later, Weeden spray-painted swastikas and other symbols associated with the white supremacist group on the walls of Temple Jacob in Hancock, according to court documents.

“Accountability is important,” said Special Agent in Charge James Deir of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Detroit.

“Today's sentence is representative of our community's view of hate crime-inspired violence. Individuals who engage in this behavior will be identified and fully prosecuted under the law.”