Ex-Navy SEAL planned to fire explosives at police at ‘No Kings’ rally
A former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs faces up to 10 years in prison after being convicted of transporting fireworks across state lines with the intent to harm law enforcement during a “No Kings” protest in San Diego, authorities said.
FBI agents found messages on Gregory Vandenberg’s phone indicating that he was angry with President Trump because he believed the U.S. government was controlled by Israel and the Jewish people, according to the Justice Department.
Vandenberg, 49, planned to travel from El Paso to San Diego to set off harmful fireworks at a June 14 protest, prosecutors said.
Inside his car, officers found T-shirts with a neo-Nazi symbol printed on them, a flag of the militant group Caucasus Front, an al-Qaeda flag and a Latin message saying “Judea must be destroyed,” among other paraphernalia displaying anti-Israel and extremist beliefs, prosecutors said.
FBI agents said they found clothing bearing anti-Israel slogans and neo-Nazi symbols in Gregory Vandenberg’s vehicle.
(United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico)
On June 12, Vandenberg stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, and purchased six large mortar fireworks as well as 72 M-150 firecrackers, designed to resemble gunfire. He repeatedly expressed his desire to use the fireworks to harm law enforcement during upcoming protests in California and urged the store clerk to join him, prosecutors said.
Vandenberg, who did not have a steady job and lived in his car, told the clerk he had extensive knowledge of explosives and prior experience with special operations forces. He said he was not interested in the color or display of fireworks, only their explosive impact and ability to harm others. He even discussed the possibility of increasing their explosive impact by gluing fireworks together.
He wore a T-shirt with the word “Amalek” on the front, which he said he designed specifically to mean “destroyer of Jews.” In the Torah, Amalek refers to the descendants of Esau who are known as the sworn enemy of the Israelites. His phone’s home screen displayed an image of the Taliban flag, prosecutors said.
A hat with the calligraphy of the al-Qaeda flag was among the evidence.
(United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico)
He refused to provide his ID and then became paranoid, asking if the store intended to track him and falsely claiming he was not American, authorities said. The employees, shaken by the encounter, took note of his license plate and contacted police.
Federal agents tracked Vandenberg to Tucson, Arizona, where he was arrested 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, although he was unemployed, prosecutors said.
After a five-day jury trial and about three hours of deliberation, a jury convicted him of transporting explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempting to transport fireworks banned in California. He remains in detention awaiting sentencing.
Acting U.S. Atty. Ryan Ellison said in a statement that the verdict sends a message that any attempt to use violence to express political beliefs will result in federal consequences.
“People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and express them peacefully,” Ellison said. “What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others. Vandenberg intended to turn the explosives into a tool of intimidation.”
