ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal jury convicted a former U.S. Navy SEAL for planning to use explosives against police at the June 14 “No Kings Day” protests in California.
Federal prosecutors say Gregory Vandenberg was traveling from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego, California, when he purchased fireworks in New Mexico. Court records say he told a store clerk he intended to throw them at police officers during the protests.
Vandenberg was arrested in Tucson, Arizona. Prosecutors say search of his vehicle revealed the purchased fireworks, along with clothing displaying antisemitic and extremist symbols, including a t-shirt with an image of the Al-Qaeda flag, and another with a neo-Nazi symbol. FBI agents say the home screen on Vandenberg’s phone consisted of an image of the Taliban flag.
“People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. “What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others.”…