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Derek Sanders, the elected sheriff of Thurston County, said in a
Facebook post that the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division
asked his office for assistance Monday as an FBI special weapons
and tactics team executed a search warrant in Lacey, near the
state capitol of Olympia, “as a result of a violent robbery and
theft of military weaponry/armor.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle said in a statement to The
Associated Press on Tuesday night that the search warrant
related to an Army CID and FBI investigation into an assault
Sunday at Joint Base Lewis-McCord, just north of Olympia.
Sanders' statement said two people were arrested and booked into
Thurston County Jail for investigation of firearms-related
offenses.
“The suspects identified in this case were actively involved in
Nazi White Nationalist efforts,” he wrote.
Sanders did not immediately return messages seeking comment
Tuesday night.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office statement said Army investigators had
identified suspects in the assault at the military base and the
FBI executed the search warrant late Monday night into early
Tuesday.
Reached for comment, the FBI said its Seattle office was
“assisting our partners Thurston County Sheriff’s Office and
Army Criminal Investigation Division” and referred questions to
them.
Additional information was expected to be included in a federal
criminal complaint to be unsealed Wednesday. The two people
arrested were expected to make initial appearances at U.S.
District Court in Tacoma on Wednesday afternoon.
In his post, Sanders said agents had seized 35 firearms at the
home, including short barrel rifles and an MG42 machine gun — a
type typically supported with a bipod and which was used by
German troops during World War II. Other seized gear included
grenade launchers, explosives, body armor, ammunition and
ballistic helmets, and multiple rifles were staged at windows
throughout the residence, the sheriff said.
He posted photos from the home showing an array of weapons,
ammunition and body armor surrounded by Nazi paraphernalia,
including a red Nazi flag emblazoned with a black swastika.
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