New Hampshire's 'Crying Nazi' Guilty On Extortion, Threat Charges

CONCORD, NH — A Keene man, who gained infamy during the Charlottesville riots in 2017 after being featured in a VICE News documentary, has been found guilty on threat charges in U.S. District Court.

Christopher C. Cantwell, 39, of Keene was found guilty of extortionate interstate communications and threatening to injure property or reputation, both felonies, by a jury Monday.

According to U.S. Attorney Scott Murray, during four days of testimony, jurors heard about Cantwell's online activities including an alt-right Internet radio call-in program and website that was targeted, he believed, by a group called the "Bowl Patrol." Cantwell threatened the victim of the case to give up the identity of a person he believed was threatening him named "Vic Mackey" via Telegram Messenger, an online app. When the victim refused to disclose the information in June 2019, Cantwell began threatening the individual — including saying he would rape his wife in front of him and his children.

"Give me Vic, it's your only out," he wrote.

During the next two days, Cantwell sent messages to the victim, threatening to dox him and report false information to child protection authorities.

Cantwell was found not guilty on a cyberstalking charge.

"Sending threatening and extortionate messages over the Internet can instill fear and emotional damage," Murray said. "I am grateful to the jury for weighing the evidence in this case and finding that this defendant’s disturbing conduct was unlawful. I also want to express my appreciation to the FBI and our other law enforcement partners for their work investigating this case. This conviction should send a message to all those who use the Internet as a means to threaten others that their unlawful conduct will not be tolerated."

Joseph Bonavolonta, the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, also thanked the jury for its verdicts.

"Safeguarding the civil liberties every American is entitled to, regardless of their beliefs, is fundamental to the FBI’s mission," he said. "But when freedom of speech is weaponized, and threats are made, a line must be drawn where individuals like Christopher Cantwell will not be allowed to cross."

Along with the FBI, New Hampshire State Police and Keene and Manchester police were involved with the case.

Cantwell is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 4, 2021.

Cantwell, a New York native and previous Congressional candidate, was featured in a documentary VICE documentary, "Charlottesville: Race And Terror." He was ridiculed online after filming himself crying before being arrested — in a video that was uploaded to YouTube.com, which is how he earned the nickname, New Hampshire's "Crying Nazi."

In April 2018, he was also arrested on two illegal and malicious use of gas charges in Albermarle County in Virginia, according to the Loudoun Times-Mirror. Months later, Cantwell pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery for pepper-spraying people during a protest.

When he was living in New York, he was convicted on criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of stolen property, and two driving while intoxicated charges, according to online reports.

Cantwell moved to Keene in 2012 and had been part of the "Free Keene" movement in that city before members of the organization disavowed him for his "despicable racist views," calling him "just an angry libertarian comedian who had a major hatred for the police."

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