The U.S. Navy has tossed out a man suspected of recruiting for the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi terrorist network that has been connected to numerous murders and planned terrorist attacks.
Until Friday, David Cole Tarkington served as a naval aviation machinist mate’s apprentice with Strike Fighter Squadron VFA-41 (“Black Aces”) in Lemoore, California. Enlisting in July 2019, he worked on aircraft engines, propellers and other technical duties.
However, a March 12 investigative feature published by the science and technology publication Gizmodoidentified Tarkington as a “prolific Atomwaffen recruiter who is now a sailor in the U.S. Navy.” Tarkington allegedly tried to recruit 12 other users into Atomwaffen using Iron March, a white supremacist forum that went defunct in 2017. He posted 224 messages and 377 posts on the site.
