The Washington Post reports:
Earlier this month, when the body of California college student Blaze Bernstein [inset] was pulled from the loose dirt of a public park in the Orange County foothills, questions swirled about a motive. He was stabbed 20 times.
The 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania sophomore was gay and Jewish, and local law enforcement announced they were investigating whether Bernstein’s death was a hate crime. The arrest of Samuel Woodward, a 20-year-old former high school classmate of Bernstein’s, only intensified the speculation.
On Friday, ProPublica published a piece linking Woodward to Atomwaffen Division, a relatively new Charles Manson-obsessed neo-Nazi outfit that defines itself as a “revolutionary national socialist organization centered around political activism and the practice of an autonomous fascist lifestyle.”
Quoting three sources with knowledge of Woodward’s recent past, the investigative news site reported Woodward joined the hate group in 2016 and attended a three-day training camp with other members in Texas. Pictures from the event captured Atomwaffen Division members in skull masks, making Nazi salutes.
Atomwaffen has also now been linked to last month’s murders of a Virginia couple by the jilted neo-Nazi boyfriend of their daughter and to the May 2017 murders of two Tampa men by their roommate.
More about Bernstein’s alleged killer:
Mr Woodward spoke openly on social media about his Catholic faith and conservative political views. He wrote more than a year ago on his ASKfm page that if he were stranded on a tropical island, he would choose a Bible and a Colt .45. “Anything is possible through the Lord who strengthens me,” he wrote.
Woodward, 20, is set to be formally arraigned later the week. He has not yet entered a plea to the charge of murder. “This is a tragedy,” his lawyer, Edward Munoz told reporters, when he client was initially charged. “This young man I’m representing was an Eagle Scout and now he’s facing murder.”
More from the Times Of Israel:
Before its name became associated with murder, Atomwaffen’s publicity was chiefly related to the dissemination of posters. In 2016, at least eight college campuses were plastered with posters and stickers calling for race war. Some pro-Hitler, swastika-laden materials were taped directly onto students’ doors, and other materials were handed out in person.
On the video-hosting service BitChute, several Atomwaffen propaganda videos are posted, including one about the “Doomsday Hate Camp” attended by Woodward. Among videos that celebrate the “productivity” of members who commit violence, a “Lessons of Charlottesville” tribute called on “the Right to unite.”
In the hate group’s messaging, gays and Jews are vehemently targeted. LGBT people are urged to commit suicide by hanging themselves, and AIDS is praised for “working” against its ostensible target. In a military-style training video posted earlier this month, members shout “gas the kikes” while firing guns, and Jews are the first enemy identified on the group’s homepage.
I’m working on an investigation into the alleged neo-Nazi murderer Sam Woodward & his membership to Atomwaffen Division for @ProPublica, with @awinston & @ACInvestigates. Here’s our first piece: https://t.co/EmNvEKstSs pic.twitter.com/okfW2PeTqq
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) January 27, 2018
Atomwaffen have aggressively recruited on college campuses, with posters like “Black Lives Don’t Matter” and “Join Your Local Nazis.”
You haven’t heard about it because most elites think the real threat on campus is anti-racist organizing. https://t.co/GRA2XeEDFN
— sean. (@SeanMcElwee) January 27, 2018
The left wants to call National Socialists right and the right wants to call us left, the truth of the matter is we disavow both, the left and the right play their roles perfectly as Zionist stooges in this system. https://t.co/JqlnVUrqlS
— ☢️Trajan_AWD☢️ (@Trajan__AWD) January 29, 2018
Another photo of Sam doing the Nazi salute next two other Atomwaffen Division members. pic.twitter.com/UTslL3Vx0C
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) January 27, 2018
.@ProPublica reports: “The 20-year-old man charged in Orange County with killing a gay Jewish college student earlier this month is said to have belonged to #Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group.” Learn more from ADL about its members & violent activity > https://t.co/rz72jgvgms pic.twitter.com/9IzeFYgRPy
— Oren Segal (@orensegal) January 29, 2018