A former Navy reservist who informed an undercover FBI agent that he was impressed by the Unabomber and admired Adolf Hitler was sentenced to 4 years in jail for his half in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A federal choose sentenced Hatchet Velocity to 48 months of jail on a number of prices stemming from his half in breaching the Capitol, in addition to three extra years of supervised launch and a $10,000 nice. Velocity has additionally been sentenced to a few years for firearms offenses tied to his possession of unregistered silencers.
Velocity was additionally a petty officer 1st class and a cryptologic technician within the Navy Reserve. In response to Navy data supplied to Army.com in June, when Velocity was arrested on the unique Jan. 6-related prices, the sailor had been assigned to a number of distinguished instructions within the Washington, D.C., space, together with the Navy Prison Investigative Service headquarters and the Naval Warfare Area Subject Exercise on the Nationwide Reconnaissance Workplace. The NRO is accountable for growing, launching and working America’s spy satellites.
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Courtroom paperwork say he held a Prime Secret clearance and had entry to “Delicate Compartmented Data” — essentially the most restrictive paperwork within the nationwide safety setting.
Navy spokeswoman Lt. Alyson Palms informed Army.com that Velocity’s enlistment contract expired in November 2022.
In courtroom data, investigators mentioned that Velocity informed an undercover FBI agent in March 2022 that he was impressed by and sympathized with Eric Rudolph — the person accountable for the lethal bombing through the 1996 Summer time Olympics in Atlanta and a years-long bombing spree in Georgia — and Ted Kaczynski, also referred to as the Unabomber.
Velocity defined to the secret agent that “it is helpful to get into these folks’s heads and, you recognize, try to provide you with a greater recreation plan than they’d.”
The sailor additionally had reward for each Hitler and the strategy Islamic extremists took in carrying out their targets. In a gathering April 7, Velocity mentioned Hitler was “top-of-the-line those that’s ever been on this earth.”
In arguing for the four-year jail sentence, prosecutors famous that, in contrast to different navy veterans who had been prosecuted for his or her function within the Jan. 6 riot, Velocity expressed no regret for his actions.
Citing the choose in his weapons case, prosecutors famous that Velocity’s actions had been “essentially the most heinous betrayal of every thing he pledged to defend by becoming a member of and serving within the navy.”
“Velocity’s conduct on January 6 was one step on a disturbing path towards racially motivated legal conduct — that finally featured plans for the kidnapping and mass homicide of civilians,” prosecutors argued.
Velocity’s legal professionals argued for a six-month sentence and mentioned that the sailor “entered the Capitol on January 6 to help the six senators who supposed to lodge objections to the certification of the electoral vote” and that “his objective was to indicate help for these senators, however to not cease the method altogether.”
The sentencing memo from Velocity additionally cited his Mormon upbringing and an outline of his character “as caring, contemplative, and compassionate in addition to curious, well-read, and respectful” from family and friends.
— Konstantin Toropin will be reached at konstantin.toropin@navy.com. Comply with him on Twitter @ktoropin.
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