Neo-Nazi group alleged to be involved in five killings nationwide

Suspects in five killings across the country have reportedly been linked to a neo-Nazi group known as Atomwaffen Division.

The Washington Post reported that Atomwaffen Division is a Charles Manson-obsessed neo-Nazi group that describes itself as a “revolutionary national socialist organization centered around political activism and the practice of an autonomous fascist lifestyle.”

The Post cited the death earlier this month of California college student Blaze Bernstein. Samuel Woodward, who was a former high school classmate of Bernstein’s and reportedly joined the hate group in 2016, was arrested and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

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According to the Post, the group first came into the national spotlight in May 2017, when an 18-year-old man was arrested in Tampa, Fla., and charged with killing two of his roommates. According to ProPublica, all three were linked with the group.

Cells of the group have been reported in multiple states, according to the Anti-Defamation League, but experts say it may only have 80 members nationwide.

The group’s website says that training for the group is meant to prepare people for the “ultimate aim of overthrowing the U.S. government through the use of terrorism and guerrilla warfare.”

It adds that joining it means “serious dedication not only to the Atomwaffen Division and its members, but to the goal of ultimate uncompromising victory.”

“With this means only those willing to get out on the streets, in the woods, or where we maybe [sic] in the world and work together in the physical realm,” the website says. “We often go hunting, adventuring, and a group favorite is urban exploring.”