SAN DIEGO — A jury has convicted a former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs of transporting fireworks throughout state traces with plans to shoot explosives at police throughout final yr’s “No Kings” protest in San Diego, federal prosecutors mentioned.
Following his conviction on Monday, Gregory Vandenberg was ordered held in custody till his sentencing listening to, which has not but been scheduled. He faces as much as 10 years in jail, in response to the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
Throughout a five-day trial in Albuquerque, New Mexico, prosecutors outlined Vandenberg’s intention to journey from El Paso, Texas, to California to injure regulation enforcement officers on the June 14 rally.
Investigators discovered messages on his cellphone indicating he was indignant with President Donald Trump as a result of he believed the U.S. authorities is managed by Israel and the Jewish individuals, in response to prosecutors. His residence display on his cellphone displayed an image of the Taliban flag.
FBI brokers testified that they discovered clothes and paraphernalia in Vandenberg’s automotive with anti-Israel slogans and neo-Nazi symbols, together with a flag for the militant group the Caucasian Entrance and a message in Latin saying “Judea have to be destroyed.”
Vandenberg, 49, stopped at a journey heart close to Lordsburg, New Mexico, on June 12 and bought six giant mortar fireworks in addition to 72 M-150 firecrackers, that are designed to sound like gunfire. He informed the shop clerk that he had vital data of explosives and prior particular operations forces expertise, and he outlined his intentions to hurt police on the upcoming demonstration, prosecutors mentioned.
Vandenberg, who had no steady employment and lived in his automotive, urged the clerk to hitch him, in response to a press release from the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace. Whereas within the retailer, he wore a T-shirt with the phrase “Amalek” on the entrance, which he mentioned he designed particularly to imply “destroyer of Jews,” the assertion mentioned.
Retailer staff wrote down his license plate and contacted authorities. Vandenberg was arrested June 13 whereas sleeping in his automotive on the Davis-Monthan Air Power Base in Arizona. He informed FBI brokers he was touring for work, regardless of being unemployed, and visiting buddies in Phoenix, prosecutors mentioned.
Vandenberg was convicted of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and tried transportation of prohibited fireworks into California. A cellphone message was left Tuesday looking for remark from his lawyer, Russell Dean Clark.
Performing U.S. Lawyer Ryan Ellison mentioned in a press release that the decision reveals that the federal government will prosecute those that intend to make use of violence to precise political views.
“Individuals on this nation are free to carry their very own beliefs and to precise them peacefully,” Ellison mentioned. “What they aren’t free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others. Vandenberg meant to show explosives right into a software of intimidation.”
© Copyright 2026 Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials might not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
