One of the storylines Bluestem has been following since 2009 is that of Southern Minnesota’s neo-Nazis. Led by Samuel Johnson, formerly of Austin, Minnesota, the white supremacist group tried to use anti-immigrant sentiment to recruit new members.
Their activities drew counter-protestors from as far away as the Twin Cities, and later the attention of the FBI’s domestic terrorism task force. Last spring, Johnson’s name turned up in a federal affidavit related to charges brought against Joseph Benjamin Thomas, Mendota Heights, when Thomas and Johnson were considering blowing up the Mexican consulate in St. Paul.
By September, Johnson, a felon, was in prison for possessing an assault weapon, while Thomas had troubles of his own with drug charges. Neither man was brought up on terrorism charges.
Now Johnson’s wife, Theresa White, is mentioned as an example of B. Todd Jones’ poor performance as U.S. attorney in Minnesota. The Star Tribune’s Dan Browning and Paul McEnroe report in Former Minneapolis FBI director attacks Jones’ ATF nomination:
A former director of the Minneapolis FBI office sent a letter this week to members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee denouncing B. Todd Jones’ performance as U.S. attorney in Minnesota as they prepare to consider his nomination to director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Donald E. Oswald, 54, a self-declared Democrat and supporter of President Obama, said he felt “morally compelled” to alert the committee about what he describes as Jones’ “atrocious professional reputation within the federal law enforcement community” in Minnesota.
In the letter, Oswald writes:
Moreover, in April 2012, at the conclusion of a long term joint FBI/ATF undercover domestic terrorism investigation entitled “Operation Wrong Reich,” Mr. Jones’ office failed to charge one defendent claiming resource concerns. This investigation focused on a white supremist groups, who among other things, discussed plans to bomb the Mexican Consulate in Saint Paul. Defendant Teresa White, along with her husband, Sam Johnson–a convicted felons, and Joseph Thomas, also a convicted felon, were arrested on a multitude of federal charges. But suddenly, without concurrence from the FBI or ATF, Mr. Jones’ office declined to pursue legitimate federal charges against Tereas White for an illegal straw purchase of a firearm, conspiracy to illegally transfer a firearm, and making false statements to federal la enforcement officials, claiming resource issues. Mr. Jones can’t have it both ways–that is to say–he can’t claim to be focusing USAO resources on terrorism matters, but fail to pursue established felony firearm charges against a domestic terrorism defendant. (Letter, page 5)
This is new information about the arrests of Johnson and Thomas, adding a third person to the case. We’re hoping to obtain more documents related to the case, as there’s little online about Teresa White (an different individual from the time of the Austin agitation; Johnson was arrested for abandoning a dog when his former household was breaking up).
According to Who’s Who in the Nat’l Socialist Movement: Membership List Leaked at the One People’s Project, White:
In addition to the list two letters of members resigning from the NSM were also obtained. One was from Cynthia Keene from Springfield, MO, who resigned for unknown reasons in 2010 but still said she will continue to support the group’s efforts. The other was from neo-Nazi Samuel James Johnson, who said in his 2010 email that he is resigning to chart another course in his activism. “There is no more purpose for organizational ties, the time has come purely and simply for organization,” his email read. “I am not talking about a protest or a street walk or handing out fliers to try to wake people up who will not be awakened until there life’s (sic) have been effected enough to see the truth. I think you know what I’m getting at.”
According to recent information that has been obtained, Johnson is a convicted felon who resides at [redacted] Fairmont, MN. He was recently married to an alleged neo-Nazi named Teresa Goad, a/k/a Teresa Johnson-White, who works as a nurse [redacted]
We can’t vouch for the accuracy of this information, which is from March 2012.However, the gun crime charges that involve helping a felon illegally obtain firearms–and doing it on behalf of someone planning large-scale, hateful crimes–are sort of things that many Americans don’t want to see go unpunished.
And while we believe that there’s a need for additional gun regulations, Bluestem also thinks that given Johnson’s perchant for violence, the public might have been served had the United State Attorney’s Office pursued Theresa White’s case.
Screenshot: The passage from the Oswald letter (above); Sam Johnson–yeah, that guy (below)
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