A Savage man who sympathized with mass shooters has been sentenced to serve more than six years (80 months) in federal prison.
River William Smith, 21, will also serve three years of supervised release. He previously pleaded guilty to illegally possessing a machine gun and attempted possession of hand grenades in May 2023. The latter charged was dismissed.
The FBI was able to collect evidence suggesting that Smith was preparing for a “violent exchange with police,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of Minnesota.
Smith allegedly said that he is “pro-mass shooting,” expressed interest in joining neo-Nazi paramilitary groups and sympathized with the Parkland school shooter. An FBI affidavit says Smith called the suspect who killed five at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub a “hero” and Black people “agents of Satan.”
Smith was originally charged in December 2022 after purchasing three grenades and four auto sears — gun parts that turn firearms into automatic weapons — from an FBI informant.