Court dismisses claims accusing Washington man of infiltrating Patriot Front, doxxing members
Feb 3, 2026, 2:54 PM | Updated: 2:55 pm
View of the judge's bench from the audience inside a federal courtroom. (Photo: Jefferson Siegel-Pool, Getty Images)
(Photo: Jefferson Siegel-Pool, Getty Images)
A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed a lawsuit brought by five people affiliated with the white nationalist group Patriot Front who accused a Washington man of infiltrating the group, hacking its computer systems and doxxing its members.
U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones granted defendant David Alan Capito II’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim and dismissed the case without prejudice, allowing the plaintiffs 21 days to file an amended complaint.
The plaintiffs — Paul Gancarz, Daniel Turetchi, Colton Brown, James Johnson and Amelia Johnson — alleged in a 2023 complaint that Capito, who later changed his name to Vyacheslav Arkhangelskiy, joined Patriot Front in July 2021 using a false identity and false statements about his background and beliefs.
The complaint said Capito joined under the name “Vincent Washington” and was accepted as a member after agreeing to keep information about the group confidential.
According to the lawsuit, Patriot Front assigned Capito to take photographs at group gatherings in the Pacific Northwest.
The plaintiffs alleged that Capito used that role to secretly photograph members’ license plates and collect other personal information.
The complaint also alleged Capito used hidden microphones and cameras to record members during social interactions.
The plaintiffs further alleged that Capito worked with a group of hackers to gain unauthorized access to Patriot Front’s computer servers in late 2021.
The complaint described a “session hijack attack” that allegedly gave Capito administrator-level access to private chat rooms, along with a separate denial-of-service attack intended to distract from the intrusion.
The lawsuit said Capito downloaded private chats and video links that were later publicly released.
After the alleged breach, the plaintiffs said Capito and others published confidential information identifying Patriot Front members, including home addresses and workplaces.
The complaint alleged the information was used in a coordinated doxxing campaign that included harassing phone calls to employers, trespassing, slashed tires and hostile flyers placed in neighborhoods.
Each plaintiff described specific consequences tied to the alleged disclosures.
Gancarz said he lost his job as a civil engineer earning about $107,000 a year after repeated calls were made to his employer.
Turetchi said he was fired from his real estate job after harassment of his broker and professional board.
Brown said he lost his job, housing and family relationships.
James Johnson said he lost about one-third of his income and benefits after relocating.
Amelia Johnson said she was fired and unable to find new work.
Judge Jones ruled that those alleged harms do not qualify as a “loss” under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which is limited to costs related to responding to computer intrusions, restoring systems or interruptions of service.
Job losses and emotional distress, the judge wrote, are not the type of technological harms covered by the statute.
Because the federal claim was dismissed, the court declined to consider the remaining state law claims, including invasion of privacy, fraud and computer trespass, citing standard practice when federal claims are eliminated early in a case.
The dismissal leaves open the possibility that the plaintiffs could amend their complaint.
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