A Los Angeles man whose social media accounts had links to a neo-Nazi organization is facing hate crime charges after he yelled anti-Semitic slurs at a Jewish man and his infant and threatened to kill them earlier this month, authorities said.
Cameron Brunson Blake, 34, was charged with making criminal threats and vandalism of a religious property, which is a hate crime, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Blake screamed “das Juden,” which is German for “Jew,” and several other slurs and profanities at a man and his daughter in the Pacific Palisades area on Aug. 12, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Ceballos, who is prosecuting the case. Two days before that, he carved an anti-Semitic slur into the doors of a synagogue, according to the district attorney’s office.
Investigators found links on Blake’s social media accounts to Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi organization that has been linked to violence in California and other parts of the United States. Ceballos said it was unclear if Blake is formally a member of the group or simply followed their activities online.
Last year, another supposed member of Atomwaffen Division was charged with a hate crime in the killing of 19-year-old Blazer Bernstein in Orange County. Prosecutors said the suspect, Samuel Woodward, targeted Bernstein because he was gay.
Ceballos said investigators are reviewing other hate incidents in the area that Blake may have taken part in. He was arrested on Thursday without incident and faces six years in state prison if convicted.