A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Gregory Vandenberg, 49, was found guilty of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California.
Plot Details
Vandenberg was driving from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego ahead of the June 14, 2025, demonstrations when he stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, and purchased six mortar-style fireworks and 72 M-150 firecrackers. He told a store clerk he intended to throw the explosives at law enforcement officers during the protests.
The conversation alarmed employees enough that they wrote down Vandenberg’s license plate and contacted law enforcement before he reached California. Federal agents tracked Vandenberg to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he was arrested the following morning while sleeping inside his vehicle.
Investigation Findings
A search of Vandenberg’s vehicle uncovered the fireworks along with clothing displaying antisemitic, anti-Israel and extremist imagery. Among the items recovered were shirts bearing an Al-Qaeda flag, a shirt calling for the destruction of Judea, a hat featuring the Al-Qaeda flag and apparel displaying a variation of the Black Sun, a symbol associated with neo-Nazi ideology.
Prosecutors said Vandenberg told investigators the word ‘AMALEK’ on his custom-made T-shirt meant ‘destroyer of Jews.’ Investigators also discovered Vandenberg’s cellphone home screen displayed a Taliban flag. A forensic review of the phone uncovered violent extremist content, including antisemitic, anti-Israel and anti-U.S. material, as well as messages discussing the upcoming protests.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison said in a statement, ‘People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully. What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others.’ Vandenberg was later sentenced to 16 months in federal prison, where he remains in custody.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
