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A former Navy SEAL with neo-Nazi beliefs faces up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted of transporting fireworks across state lines with the intent to injure law enforcement at a “No Kings” protest in San Diego, authorities said.
FBI agents found messages on Gregory Vandenberg’s phone indicating he was upset with President Trump because he believed the U.S. government is controlled by Israel and the Jewish people, according to the Department of Justice.
Vandenberg, 49, was planning on traveling from El Paso to San Diego to unleash harmful fireworks at a June 14 protest, prosecutors said.
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Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Southern California on Saturday to voice their concerns over ongoing immigration raids and oppose the policies of President Trump, who they depicted as an aspiring monarch.
Inside his car agents found T-shirts with a neo-Nazi symbol printed on them, a flag for the militant group the Caucasian 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.
On June 12, Vandenberg stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, N.M., and purchased six large mortar fireworks as well as 72 M-150 firecrackers, which are designed to sound like gunfire. He repeatedly expressed his desire to use the fireworks to harm law enforcement at upcoming protests in California and urged the store clerk to join him, prosecutors said.
Vandenberg, who had no stable employment and lived in his car, told the clerk he had significant knowledge of explosives and prior special operations forces experience. He said he was not interested in the color or display of the fireworks, only in their explosive impact and ability to harm others. He even talked about the possibility of increasing their explosive impact by taping 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 descendants of Esau who are known as the Israelites’ sworn enemy. His home screen on his phone displayed a picture of the Taliban flag, prosecutors said.
He declined to provide his ID and then became paranoid, asking whether the store intended to track him and falsely saying that he was not from America, authorities said. Employees, shaken by the encounter, wrote down his license plate and contacted the police.
Federal agents tracked Vandenberg to Tucson, Ariz., where he was arrested on June 13 while sleeping in his car at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. He told agents he was traveling for work and visiting friends in Phoenix, despite being unemployed, prosecutors said.
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What is the Turtle Island Liberation Front? What are its politics? The Times reviewed court documents, social media and public records to learn more about the group.
After a five-day jury trial and around three hours of deliberation, a jury convicted him of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California. He remains in custody awaiting sentencing.
Acting U.S. Atty. Ryan Ellison said in a statement that the verdict sends a message that attempts to use violence to express one’s political beliefs will be met with federal consequences.
“People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully,” Ellison said. “What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others. Vandenberg intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation.”
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Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A. Daily News. She majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University.
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