American neo-Nazi and anti-Semitic conspiracy theories podcaster and federal informant Christopher Cantwell, 39, a.k.a. The Crying Nazi, was found guilty of extortion and interstate threats by a jury in Concord, New Hampshire.
The decision was welcomed by Integrity First for America (IFA) Executive Director Amy Spitalnick, who responded with the statement: “It’s particularly powerful that this verdict was handed down on Yom Kippur ― the Jewish day of atonement ― against a neo-Nazi defendant who has made anti-Semitism central to his violence.”
Cantwell gained national attention after the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he was featured in a TV news broadcast threatening to kill protesters, waving rifles and a handgun, and marching with the tiki torch carriers, chanting “Jews will not replace us!” Cantwell later uploaded a video showing him choking back tears and weeping in response to having learned that there was a warrant for his arrest. The two videos earned him his reputation as “The Crying Nazi.” He eventually pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor assault and battery for pepper-spraying two people at the rally (so this Nazi cries and invited others to cry along).
In January 2020, Cantwell was arrested by the FBI and charged with threatening and attempting to extort a Missouri neo-Nazi and threatening to rape the man’s wife in front of his children if he did not reveal the identity of a third neo-Nazi Cantwell was looking for.
The jury found Cantwell guilty of extortion and threatening to injure property or reputation, but not guilty of cyberstalking. He faces up to 22 years in prison.
According to the authorities, Cantwell made good on a threat to report the Missouri Nazi—who has several children—to the state’s child division for drug use and racist views.
The Concord Monitor reported that “everyone at the trial wore a mask because of the coronavirus pandemic. The microphone was sanitized after each person spoke, and members of the public were limited in the courtroom and socially distanced.”