CONCORD — The hate-filled, online musings of neo-Nazis are likely to come into play when Keene resident Christopher Cantwell, known as the crying Nazi, goes before a federal jury for a trial expected to last about a week.
Cantwell faces charges that he threatened to rape the wife of an online adversary who participated in the same discussion group that he did. The trial is expected to begin either Tuesday.
Cantwell was arrested in late January and has been jailed at the Strafford County House of Corrections since then. His lawyers have pushed for a speedy trial, and his is the second trial to be heard at the U.S. District Court since the federal court resumed trials.
Cantwell came to national notoriety in 2017 during the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left one person dead. Cantwell was captured on camera crying upon his arrest.
After he was freed from jail, he returned to Keene and earns a living through donations, podcasts and his radio show, Radical Agenda.
According to court filings, Cantwell’s victim in the case holds much of the same ideology that he does.
In 2018, both participated in the online discussion group Bowl Gang or Bowl Patrol. The group identifies with Dylann Roof, the man who killed nine Black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C. in 2015. The name stems from Roof’s bowl-shaped haircut.
Cantwell’s defense lawyers say one of the group’s goals is to “make whites more predatory” like their ancestors. Racial and ethnic slurs are common. And the hyper-masculine dialogue includes jokes about raping women and taunts about a target’s manhood.
As prosecutors said: “The Bowlcasts featured shocking and highly offensive content, including endorsements of violence, misogyny, and racism and anti-Semitism.”
Cantwell eventually ended up in a dispute with the man who runs the discussion, and the leader’s allies began calling Cantwell’s radio show and taunting him, according to court filings.
The filings say that Cantwell had a private online conversation with a man known as Cheddarmane and demanded he reveal the real name and address of group leader Vic Mackey. Cantwell hoped to dox him, a term referring to revealing private information about an online personality.
When Cheddarmane, who lives in Missouri, wouldn’t provide the information, Cantwell allegedly threatened to rape Cheddermane’s wife in the presence of their children.
Cantwell faces charges of interstate communications for extortion, interstate threatening communications and cyberstalking. Prosecutors have dropped three threatening charges.
Cantwell’s defense attorneys said the FBI only found out about the alleged threats when Cantwell contacted federal officials to complain of the Bowl Gang’s harassment of his radio show.
His lawyers have called the government’s case weak and said Cheddarmane did not take the threats seriously, calling Cantwell a “crazy Junkie loser” and “(gay-slur)-ass (Jewish slur).”
“The question for trial ultimately will be whether the government can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the elements of the offense and that these statements were ‘true threats,’” his lawyers wrote.
In filings, prosecutors and defense lawyers have sparred over how much the jury will hear about Cantwell and the Bowl Gang.
Cantwell’s lawyers say they will bring up his political views, but do not wanted him associated with the Charlottesville incident. In filings, they noted that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden frequently refers to Charlottesville as his impetus for seeking the presidency.
“Jurors will hear evidence related to the defendant and alleged victim that are objectionable to many Americans. However, ‘Charlottesville’ is a loaded political prop on the national stage with its own meaning and symbolism,” his defenders wrote.
Prosecutors have said they will avoid mention of Charlottesville.
As of Monday, Judge Paul Barbadoro had not ruled on prosecution requests to bar defense attorneys from mentioning the political beliefs of Bowl Gang participants.
“The government anticipates that the defendant will attempt to introduce a potentially wide range of evidence about members of The Bowl Patrol and perhaps other alt-right internet figures, demonstrating that those persons hold abhorrent political views, denigrate women, minorities, and Jews, and endorse white supremacist violence and murder,” prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors said it has nothing to do with the extortion case.
