A Snohomish man with a past of providing tactical training to extremist groups has been handed a two-year prison sentence for illegal gun possession. Army veteran Kyle Christopher Benton, 29, faced judgment in U.S. District Court in Seattle this Wednesday after authorities discovered his cache of high-powered, unregistered firearms during a search of his home last year, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Benton, who was apprehended in September 2024 after threatening to kill his wife, has a documented history of engagement with white supremacist activities; he was involved with hate rallies and hosted extremist workshops using his military expertise, the investigation found him bragging about it online and displaying neo-Nazi propaganda with violent and anti-Semitic content, and he was not limited to his screens as he spread his twisted wisdom through physical demonstration, emboldening and binding his perverse ideology with the allure of force. U.S. District Judge Tana Lin emphasized his menace by saying, “You not only illegally possessed extremely dangerous firearms, but you bragged about it and put on firearms trainings for others while doing so,” as noted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The court heard how on September 6, 2024, federal agents, acting on a court warrant, seized weapons including an M16-like rifle capable of fully automatic fire and two short barrel rifles at Benton’s residence which under law must be registered under the National Firearms Act. Following his March 28 guilty plea to unlawful possession of a machinegun and possession of an unregistered firearm, Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne highlighted his case’s gravity, asserting that Benton’s possession of these weapons was concurrent with his involvement with groups promoting racial violence and white supremacy; Benton used these firearms, paired with his military experience, to cement his position and influence within these groups, his involvement with whom included conducting tactical training sessions…