JUST IN: McLean Man Linked to Neo-Nazi Group Sentenced for Gun Buy

A McLean man linked to a neo-Nazi group has been sentenced for possessing firearms as a drug user and lying to buy a semiautomatic rifle.

Andrew Thomasberg, a 21-year-old who is a member of the Atomwaffen Division, purchased a semiautomatic rifle for a third party, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

“He transferred that firearm to that third party after purchasing it,” the press release said. “Thomasberg also possessed at least four firearms while unlawfully using controlled substances, including marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms and opium.”

Thomasberg pleaded guilty in November to possessing firearms while being an unlawful drug user and making a false statement in order to illegally purchase a firearm

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced today that he was sentenced to one year in prison.

More from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia:

According to court documents and testimony, Thomasberg, who has a prior criminal conviction for a dangerous firearms offense, was associated with white supremacist organizations, such as Vanguard America, Atomwaffen Division, and Patriot Front.

In text message communications, while Thomasberg possessed firearms and was a regular drug user, he glorified racially motivated violence and referred to mass shooters as “saints.”

Additionally, Thomasberg informed law enforcement that only one day before he was arrested, he had submitted an application to join Patriot Front. Patriot Front is “a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them alone.”

Photo via Joe Gratz/Flickr