A self-proclaimed Neo-Nazi and leader of Aryan Nations in Reno, Nevada, was arrested and charged with mailing e-mail threats to Jews, government officials, law enforcement officers, media and others in Nevada and California.

Steven Holten, 40, was arrested September 22, 2004, on a federal charge of transmitting a threat by interstate commerce.  In his email, Holten allegedly threatened that Aryan Nations of Reno would take "terrorist actions" against people and groups on its "most wanted list" that would be "gruesome and something that has never been seen in Reno and San Francisco."

During a search of Holten's apartment, police found a recently acquired handgun and a laptop computer, which he allegedly used to e-mail the threats.

Reno Police Lt. Ron Donnelly called Holten a "hate-monger" and indicated that he had been in the Reno area for 18 months, trying to recruit members to Aryan Nations, an anti-Semitic and racist neo-Nazi organization.  Acting Police Chief Jim Weston said that police received information indicating Holten was seeking to recruit members in Reno-area restaurants and businesses.

Holten's neck is tattooed with an SS lightening bolt, a symbol frequently seen in neo-Nazi tattoos and graffiti. In an interview with the Spokane, Washington Spokesman-Review earlier this month, Holten said that during an Aryan Nations march in Idaho in July, the late Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler signed his Aryan flag "For Victory."

Holten was being held without bail in the Washoe County Jail.