Nicholas Welker, also known as “King ov Wrath,” was sentenced to 44 months in in prison for conspiring to make death threats. Welker, the leader of Feuerkrieg Division (“FKD”), a violent extremist group, posted death threats against a Brooklyn-based journalist so that the journalist would stop reporting on the Neo-Nazi group.
“Welker tried to silence a journalist from reporting on his white supremacist group so that his fellow extremists could continue to commit violence against racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, and the LGBTQ+ community,” said Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “There were real victims of this crime, the journalist and his news media organization. Today’s sentence demonstrates that we will stand up for them and other journalists who bravely report on these violent hate groups.”
According to court filings, Welker’s threat included a photograph of the journalist with a gun aimed at his head and the words “Race Traitor” over the journalist’s eyes. The threat stated, “JOURNALIST F[***] OFF! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.” The threat listed the journalist and his employer by name. Welker posted the threat to a public online forum. Two under-aged FKD members tweeted the death threat directly at the journalist’s social media handle so that he would see it. Welker intended to frighten the journalist into dropping his reporting on Welker’s hate group.
FKD members share a common goal of challenging laws, social order, and the government via terrorism and other violent acts. The organization encourages attacks on racial minorities, the Jewish community, the LGBTQ+ community, the U.S. government, journalists and critical infrastructure. FKD has members in the United States and abroad.
