SEATTLE (AP) - King County prosecutors have charged the suspected leader of Washington’s chapter of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division with unlawful possession of a firearm, in violation of a court order issued under the state’s red-flag law.
The Seattle Times reports Kaleb James Cole was charged with the gross misdemeanor Monday. A warrant was issued for his arrest in Washington, with bail set at $20,000, according to court documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
A judge granted Seattle Police Department’s petition for an “extreme risk” protection order against Cole in October, under which his firearms were confiscated and he was banned from possessing guns for a year. A violation of the order could result in a five-year ban under state law.
Washington voters overwhelmingly approved the state’s “red flag” law that allows such orders in 2016, which let police and family members ask a judge to keep firearms out of the hands of people believed to pose a threat to themselves or others.
The order against Cole was granted in King County, but prosecutors here are arguing that he showed “blatant disregard” and violated it when he was pulled over in November by officers in Texas who said they found multiple assault rifles inside his car. A Washington man in the passenger seat said the guns were his and is facing a federal gun charge.
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