A former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs is facing up to 10 years in prison after being convicted of transporting explosives across state lines with the intent to injure law enforcement officers at a “No Kings” protest in San Diego, authorities said.
FBI agents found messages on Gregory Vandenberg’s phone showing he was upset with President Trump because he believed the US government was controlled by Israel and the Jewish people, according to the Justice Department.
Vandenberg, 49, was planning to travel from El Paso to San Diego to detonate explosives at a June 14 protest, prosecutors said.
Inside his car, agents found T-shirts with neo-Nazi symbols printed on them, the flag of the militant group Caucasian Front, the flag of Al Qaeda and a Latin message that read “Judea must be destroyed,” among other anti-Israel and extremist beliefs, prosecutors said.
FBI agents say they found clothing in Gregory Vandenberg’s car with anti-Israel slogans and neo-Nazi symbols.
(Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico)
On June 12, Vandenberg stopped at a tourist center near Lordsburg, NM, and purchased six large explosives and 72 M-150 explosives, designed to sound like rifles. He repeatedly expressed his desire to use explosives to harm law enforcement at upcoming protests in California and urged a store clerk to join him, prosecutors said.
Vandenberg, who did not have a steady job and lived in his car, told the clerk that he had significant experience with explosives and previous special operations experience. He said he doesn’t care about the color or presentation of fireworks, only about their explosion and potential to harm others. He even talked about the possibility of increasing their explosive effect by recording fireworks together.
He was wearing a T-shirt with the word “Amalek” on the front, which he said he designed specifically to mean “destroyer of the Jews.” In the Torah, Amalek refers to the descendants of Esau known as the sworn enemies of the Israelites. His home screen on his phone displayed an image of the Taliban flag, prosecutors said.
A hat emblazoned with the Al Qaeda flag was among the evidence.
(Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico)
He refused to give his ID and became confused, asking if the store intended to follow him and lied that he was not American, authorities said. Employees, alarmed by their encounter, wrote down his license numbers and contacted the police.
Federal agents tracked Vandenberg to Tucson, Ariz., where he was arrested on June 13 while sleeping in his car at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He told agents he was traveling for work and visiting friends in Phoenix, even though he was unemployed, prosecutors said.
After a five-day jury trial and three hours of deliberations, the jury convicted him of transporting explosives with intent to kill, injure or threaten and attempting to transport illegal explosives into California. He is still in custody awaiting sentencing.
He held US Atty. Ryan Ellison said in a statement that this decision sends a message that attempts to use violence to express your political beliefs will face organizational consequences.
“People in this country are free to hold their beliefs and express them in peace,” said Ellison. They are not allowed to use fireworks to intimidate or frighten other people. Vandenberg intended to turn fireworks into a tool of intimidation.”
