'Judgement by lead’: Nazi sympathizer investigated for threat against Wash. governor

The Washington State Patrol is investigating a Nazi sympathizer who posted a social media reply that appears to threaten the state’s governor with gunfire.

Greyson Arnold wrote in reply to an X post by Gov. Bob Ferguson last month that “the federal government must act quickly to arrest you or it will be the 2nd amendment and judgment by lead.”

Arnold was responding to a post by Ferguson highlighting a new state program to assist families targeted for deportation by the Trump administration, which the governor described as “ripping families apart” and resulting in “kids losing their parents” and “businesses losing their workers.”

A former podcaster, the 35-year-old Arnold is part of the Groyper movement, an optics-obsessed cluster of far-right activists who seek to move white nationalist ideas into the political mainstream. Arnold was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, but was not arrested. The day after Donald Trump took the oath of office and issued mass pardons for the Jan. 6 defendants, Arnold posted a video of himself on the Capitol steps on Jan. 6 stating, “This is an American baptism. The American spirit is awakening.”

Arnold has cultivated ties with far-right Republicans such as former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, and Rep. Paul Gosar in Arizona. In 2022, Joe Kent, a Republican candidate for Congress from Washington state who is now set to direct the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center appeared in a video for an interview conducted by Arnold. When confronted with Arnold’s pro-Nazi views, the campaign disavowed him, claiming Kent did not know who Arnold was.

CNN compiled a list of atrocious pro-Nazi views expressed by Arnold, including a conspiracy theory purporting that there were Jewish plans to “genocide the German people,” describing Adolf Hitler as “a complicated historical figure which many people misunderstand," and calling the Nazis a “pure” race.

Arnold also briefly worked as a field organizer for the Washington State Republican Party in 2022, before he was fired for his social media posts. Despite his extremist views, FEC records show that Arnold registered voters last summer for Citizens for Free Enterprise, a super PAC led by former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey.

The Executive Protection Unit of the Washington State Patrol was alerted to the Arnold’s “judgement of lead” post by a legislative assistant at the state capitol in Olympia, according to Chris Loftis, a spokesperson for the state law enforcement agency. The legislative assistant, in turn, received a tip from “an extremist watchdog group” in Arizona, Loftis said.

“We did visit the gentleman’s residences of record,” Loftis told Raw Story. “WSP detectives visited an address in Spokane and, at our request, Arizona officials visited an Arizona address. Greyson Arnold was not in either location, so we did not speak to the gentleman in either visit.”

Loftis said he was unable to comment further because the matter remains under investigation.

In a message last week to his 7,200 Telegram subscribers, Arnold appeared to double down on the threat,

“The new WA ‘governor’ just sent law enforcement to my house who claimed this tweet is a credible threat of violence,” he wrote.

“To make it clear,” Arnold added, “if you protect criminal illegal aliens then you are participating in the genocide of the American people, and if the federal government doesn’t act then it is up to the American people to.”

In comments below the message, Arnold’s subscribers endorsed the apparent call to violence, with one writing on Monday: “That’s literally what the 2nd amendment was made for. Literally killing your own government.”

In an X post last week, Arnold appeared to express confidence that he has the backing of Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“Looks like the [law enforcement officers] who tried to harass and intimidate my family are going to get prosecuted,” he wrote.

Arnold’s post referenced a news item reporting, "Bondi just ordered the Justice Department to freeze all funding for sanctuary cities and has instructed attorneys to begin prosecuting officials preventing ICE from doing their job.”

Asked whether the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington intends to take the action sought by Arnold, spokesperson Emilie Langlie told Raw Story that as a matter of policy the Justice Department would decline to confirm or deny the existence of any investigation “unless or until something is filed on the matter in court.”

Arnold has a conviction in Arizona for disorderly conduct-fighting. A police report obtained by Raw Story indicates that officers responded to a domestic violence call at Arnold’s home in Lake Havasu City in December 2021. The alleged victim told officers that Arnold became frustrated when she told him his bank account was overdrawn. She said he slammed down a plate of food, threw down a glass of orange juice, and smashed a bottle of liquor on the counter, and then followed her from the kitchen to the living room, where he held her in a chair and prevented her from going to the bathroom.

“Too bad, b----, I’m the man and you need to listen to me,” Arnold said, according to the victim.

According to the report, Arnold admitted to forcing the victim into the chair, and notes from the report indicate he told the officer that she “is a very easy woman to move around and he just wanted her to sit in one spot and listen to what he had to say.”

Arnold was also charged with intentionally placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury and criminally defacing or damaging property worth less than $250, but court record show the charges were dismissed when he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

Arnold’s social media posts have become increasingly unhinged in recent weeks, targeting not only the governor but also local and federal judges and migrants.

Replying to a post showing photos of King County Superior Court Judge Johanna Bender shopping at a supermarket, Arnold wrote: “What’s her home address and usual locations she visits, I’m sure the families she’s hurt would like to know.”

In another post referencing a photo of U.S. District Court Judge Loren AliKhan and a decision by her to block President Trump’s freeze on spending for federal aid programs, Arnold posted a GIF of Dwight K. Schrute, the character from the TV show “The Office,” firing a rifle.

On the same day as his “judgement by lead” post in reference to Gov. Ferguson, Arnold posted a video recorded from his car window as he cruised past a group of men standing on the side of a public roadway outside a self-storage business.

“I am mapping hotspots where illegals congregate and documenting where they reside to report directly to ICE,” he wrote. “This includes not only Home Depot, but schools, hospitals, and places of worship. Together we can find them and send them home, to Mexico.”

In another post that echoes the history of ordinary Germans looting Jewish homes when they were deported during World War II, Arnold posted a reply on X expressing indifference to a news story about a Guatemalan woman who had been deported and was upset that she still owed her parents money after they raised more than $25,000 to pay a smuggler.

“We should be doing our duty as Americans and helping strip them of any wealth before deporting them,” he wrote.

Arnold could not be reached for comment for this story.

Many of Arnold’s comments on X reflect a preoccupation with the global labor force. He talks about his experience working in China from 2015 to 2020. His posts express a negative view of Indian tech workers in the United States, in contrast to his own experience as a foreign worker in China.

“The only time I was even able to get a STEM-related job was in China,” he posted on X on Jan. 31. “America doesn’t hire Americans.”

In another post on the same day, he wrote: “China didn’t need Indians. We took in the inferior races and now the U.S. is crumbling. I choose the Chinese team if my team is just foreigners.”

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