Pepo Herd El, 51, of Dorchester, was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for illegally carrying a loaded pistol, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Massachusetts.
The U.S. attorney’s office further reported that Herd El, a felon, also possessed armor-piercing ammunition.
The department confirmed that Herd El was identified after his online purchasing history, which revealed he was acquiring firearm accessories and chemicals capable of creating explosive compounds.
Court documents, as cited by the department, noted that Herd El adhered to the sovereign citizen ideology, a movement generally considered anti-government and anti-authority.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2020, Herd El traveled by bus from Dorchester to the Ruggles MBTA station, where he was detained and searched under a warrant, the department said.
The U.S. attorney’s office reported that law enforcement officials recovered a loaded semi-automatic pistol, a laser sight, three spare magazines, 45 rounds of ammunition, a knife, and an infrared camera.