Six airmen were caught with thousands of rounds of stolen ammo from Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington, according to federal court documents.
According to the affidavit filed on May 3, the bullets were discovered after at least one of the airmen allegedly made online threats promoting the violent overthrow of the federal government.
The FBI’s Seattle Division launched the investigation last August after Staff Sgt. John I. Sanger began discussing acts of violence and advocating for the capture of the U.S. Capitol.
“They defrauded our election system and are still getting away with it,” Sanger wrote in December 2020 under the social media name “problematicpatriot,” according to the affidavit. “That means this system has run it’s [sic] course. People have to die.”
Sanger and the five other airmen were charged with conspiracy to steal government property, possession of stolen ammunition, and possession of an unregistered firearm. Sanger pleaded not guilty.
Staff Sgt. Eric Eagleton, another airman accused in the indictment, told an undercover agent that he and other members of Fairchild’s 92nd Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms Training and Maintenance center regularly stole ammunition from the armory, adding that he stole nearly 3,000 rounds of ammunition per day.
“Teaching these f—ing retards how to handle weapons is pointless,” Eagleton told the wired agent. “They literally can’t remember how to clear it out, what’s the point anyways, send them downrange anyways and let me steal all this ammo.”
Nathaniel Richards, another airman accused in the affidavit, also told the undercover agent that they falsified weapons’ qualifications to show that the ammunition was used in training when it was actually stolen for “personal use.”
“We are aware of the arrest of the Airmen stationed here at Fairchild Air Force Base,” 1st Lt. Michelle H. Chang, a spokesperson for the 92nd Air Refueling Wing, told reporters. “We have been and continue to work closely with federal law enforcement authorities to provide all relevant information to assist in this ongoing investigation.”
It is unclear what Sanger’s group intended to use the ammunition for, though the indictment added that some members possessed other stolen military equipment.
