Neo-nazi soldier betrayed his unit to provoke ‘race war’

A FORMER US soldier who gave neonazis and jihadists details about his own unit to stage a “mass casualty” event in the hope of provoking a race war has been jailed for 45 years.

Ethan Melzer, 24, provided sensitive details about his unit, including movements and security arrangements.

Melzer was a member of the Order of Nine Angles, a Uk-based neo-nazi organisation that prosecutors said expressed admiration for Nazis and Islamic jihadists. He admitted attempting to kill US service members in a “murderous ambush”, and providing support for terrorists.

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said: “By unlawfully disclosing his unit’s location, strength, and armaments to other O9A members and jihadists in furtherance of this ambush, Melzer traitorously sought to attack the very soldiers he was entrusted to protect.”

Sentencing Melzer, District Judge Gregory Woods described Melzer’s behaviour as “corrosive”. The judge added: “His crimes were repugnant. He betrayed the United States of America.”