U.S. designates white supremacist group as terrorist organization for the 1st time

The U.S. government has for the first time designated a white supremacist group as a foreign terrorist organization.

The State Department on Monday labeled the Russian Imperial Movement a terrorist organization, also labeling three of its leaders as terrorists.

"This illustrates how seriously this administration takes the white supremacist terrorist threat," the State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, Nathan Sales, told The New York Times.

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The Russian Imperial Movement's leaders were hit with sanctions on Monday, and the move made it illegal for Americans to conduct transactions with the group, The Associated Press reports, although AP writes that "it was not immediately clear what the practical impact will be as the group is relatively small and does not have major international reach." The group offers paramilitary training to neo-Nazis and white supremacists in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Times reports.

Politico reported last month that the State Department was looking to designate "at least one" white supremacist group as a foreign terrorist organization. The neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen was reportedly a candidate. Joshua Geltzer, former member of the National Security Council, told Politico at the time that "finally adding to this list a white supremacist organization would really show that the U.S. recognizes the threat these groups pose, is willing to confront them using appropriate tools, and is now awakened to their distinctly transnational nature."