Two U.S. veterans were arrested on Monday after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents executed a search warrant and discovered a massive arsenal of weapons, military gear, $24,000 in cash, and Nazi memorabilia at a house in Lacey, Washington.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press, FBI officials arrested U.S. veterans Charles Ethan Fields and Levi Austin Frakes on Monday night. The outlet cited Army Criminal Investigation Division Special Agent Christopher J. Raguse, who claimed that one of the suspects admitted the two U.S. veterans had been stealing military equipment from Joint Base Lewis-McChord for two years and selling or trading the equipment.
The Associated Press reported that both Fields and Frakes have been charged with theft of government property, robbery, and assault after recently attacking a soldier at the base with a hammer during an alleged robbery. According to the outlet, the veterans are also facing investigation for the unlawful possession of a machine gun, short-barreled rifles, and incendiary devices.
The criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press said that FBI agents “observed numerous Nazi/white supremacy memorabilia, murals, and literature in every bedroom and near several stockpiles of weapons and military equipment” during the execution of Monday’s search warrant.
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In a Tuesday post on Facebook, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders wrote, “Yesterday, Army CID reached out to TCSO for assistance with the execution of a warrant on an address in the City of Lacey as a result of a violent robbery and theft of military weaponry/armor. The suspects identified in this case were actively involved in Nazi White Nationalist efforts.”
“An FBI SWAT team executed the warrant, which resulted in the seizure of short barrel rifles, an MG42 machine gun, grenade launchers, explosives, body armor, ammunition, and ballistic helmets surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia,” Sanders added. “Multiple rifles were staged at windows throughout the residence.”
Pictures of the military weapons and Nazi memorabilia discovered at the Lacey home were shared on X, formerly Twitter.
According to The Associated Press, Fields and Frakes were discovered with U.S. Army equipment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Army Ranger compound on Sunday night by an unidentified soldier who questioned the two veterans and asked them to remove their masks. The outlet noted that the veterans engaged in a fight with the soldier and that one of the suspects used a hammer to strike the soldier on the head.
The Associated Press reported that the soldier let the two suspects go after one of the veterans pulled out a knife during the fight. Law enforcement officials claimed that the two suspects left most of the military equipment behind after initially attempting to steal roughly $14,000 worth of ballistic helmets, body armor, and communications equipment.
