Re: Blue state Minnesota man accused of assembling an arsenal to attack police is sentenced to nearly 7 years

[More Government Abuse]

On 27 Feb 2022, Lefty Lundquist <lefty_l...@ggmail.com> posted some
news:svg440$pcf$1...@dont-email.me:

> Clap clap clap. Big score for the Biden FBI. With tons of illegal
> drugs pouring into the country, they go after a guy arming himself to
> defend against drug dealers and drug abusers.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota man who was accused of assembling an
arsenal of illegal weapons to use against police has been sentenced to
nearly seven years in federal prison.

River William Smith, 21, of the Minneapolis suburb of Savage, pleaded
guilty last May to one count of possession of a machine gun —
specifically devices to convert guns to fully automatic fire. He was
also accused of attempting to possess unregistered hand grenades. He
paid an FBI informant $690 for four “auto sear” devices and three dummy
grenades, prosecutors alleged.

Federal prosecutors say Smith idolized mass shooters, while his defense
attorney countered that the government’s accusations were wildly
exaggerated.

“When a defendant tells us how dangerous he is, we should listen,”
prosecutor Andrew Winter told U.S. District Judge David Doty on Tuesday.
“When he tells us he is full of rage, full of hate, enjoys watching
people get shot, we should take notice.”

But defense attorney Jordan Kushner argued this was a “run-of-the-mill
firearms case” involving someone who had not ever harmed anyone.

“There isn’t any evidence the FBI caught a mass shooter,” Kushner told
the court. “Frankly, it’s a fantasy on their part.”

Smith said in a court filing this week that his statements to government
informants and in his recorded jail calls to his family were not
serious.

“I was desperate for a friend, and wanted to impress him,” he said. “I
regret and am embarrassed by many of my statements to the FBI
informants, but they were mostly untrue.”

According to court documents and FBI Special Agent Mark’s previous
testimony, Smith had expressed interest in joining neo-Nazi paramilitary
groups; called himself “pro mass shooting in general,” called the person
who killed five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado in November 2022 a
“hero;" expressed sympathy for the shooter who killed 17 people at a
high school in Parkland, Florida, in 2018; described Black people as
“agents of Satan” and expressed hatred of Jews. The agent said Smith
carried a note cursing police inside his body armor so they could find
it after his death.

Authorities began investigating after getting a call from a retired
police officer who was working at a gun range Smith frequented. He told
them he was concerned because of how Smith practiced shooting from
behind barriers while wearing heavy body armor and conducting rapid
reloading drills.

“I do not deny having anger at the government, but my venting allows me
to express my feelings and not end up feeling a need to carry out any
acts of violence,” Smith countered in his filing.

Judge Doty rejected the government’s request for the maximum allowable
sentence of 10 years, but called Smith’s behavior “egregious given the
number of weapons and large amount of ammunition” the FBI seized. Doty
added that Smith’s actions were aggravated by his lack of remorse and
acceptance of responsibility and his “chilling promises to reoffend.”

Kushner said after the hearing that Smith plans to appeal the sentence.

https://news.yahoo.com/minnesota-man-accused-assembling-arsenal-164951374
.html