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Department of Justice
Richard Schmidt
Federal agents are trying to determine how a suspected Ohio white supremacist with a felony conviction for manslaughter acquired a cache of 18 assault weapons and other firearms, along with high-capacity magazines and more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition, according to federal law enforcement officials and court documents reviewed by NBC News.
The storehouse of weapons was discovered late last month when FBI agents arrested Richard Schmidt, 47, the owner of a Bowling Green sporting goods store called Spindletop Sports Zone, on charges of marketing counterfeit goods -- such as football jerseys with NFL logos -- from China.
Although initially portrayed as a probe into the thriving international market for counterfeit clothing, the case took a surprising turn this week when the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland unsealed search warrants and an indictment also charging Schmidt with illegal possession of firearms.
According to the documents, FBI agents who searched Schmidt’s sporting goods store and four trailers behind it, found a stash of weapons that included AR-15 assault rifles, Ruger and Sig Sauer semi-automatic pistols, bulletproof body armor and high-capacity magazines as well as ammunition.
The agents also discovered evidence of Schmidt’s ties to the neo-Nazi movement, documents show. Among the evidence seized, according to search warrants, was a video of a national convention of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement; bumper stickers of the National Alliance party, another neo-Nazi group; a “Jewish 500” list -- a supposed roster of Jewish-owned businesses -- and paraphernalia from the “Waffen SS,” Adolph Hitler’s Nazi military force in Germany from the early 1930s through World War II, according to the search warrants.
A federal law enforcement official, who spoke with NBC News on condition of anonymity, said that FBI counterterrorism agents involved in the case had picked up evidence that Schmidt may have been planning attacks against Jewish and civil rights groups in the Detroit area. “This is an active investigation,” said another federal law enforcement official when asked if Schmidt was believed to have been working with any others in the neo-Nazi movement.
In the indictment unsealed this week, Schmidt was charged with three counts of illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and body armor and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
Schmidt’s lawyer, federal public defender Andy Hart, did not respond to a request for comment.
The law enforcement officials said the case appears to illustrate some of the gaps in current background checks for gun purchasers that President Barack Obama has proposed closing as part of his package of executive actions and legislative proposals released this week aimed at curbing gun violence. Schmidt was charged with murder and felonious assault in 1989 after killing a Hispanic man and shooting two others with a semi-automatic pistol during a traffic dispute. He later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison. Federal officials were not immediately able to provide information on when he was released from prison.
Despite a federal law that prohibits convicted felons from buying firearms, Schmidt was still able to acquire his stockpile – though authorities don’t yet know how he acquired them. Federal agents have been trying for weeks to trace the weapons, but officials said they have so far made little progress. This could indicate that Schmidt purchased his weapons from private dealers or gun shows, where background checks are currently not required, one official said. But he also could have obtained them on the black market.
“It is deeply troubling that law enforcement found this man, with a prior homicide conviction, in possession of an arsenal,” said Steven M. Dettelbach, the U.S. attorney for Cleveland.
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Mark Potok, who tracks hate groups for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the group had found an entry that appeared to be from Schmidt on a neo-Nazi website several years ago, using the Yahoo profile of “Vinlander 101” and declaring his plans to set up a “historical preservation” group. (One of the trailers behind Schmidt’s sporting goods store was registered to the “Vinland Preservation League” -- a now defunct nonprofit.) He noted that the use of the word “Vinland” was likely inspired by the “Vinland Social Club,” a now largely dormant neo-Nazi skinhead group that emphasized the early Vikings role in colonizing the American continent.
“The sad reality is there are people around this country who are building up enormous arsenals of weapons because they think the end is coming -- either a race war, or the new world order … or some other form of apocalypse,” he said.
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To those of you who say why can't we just enforce the laws we have, here is one reason why, along with an answer in part to, "where are all these guns coming from?"
While dealers must notify ATF if they discover that guns from their inventories
have been lost or stolen, the Tiahrt Amendments prevent ATF from requiring gun
dealers to conduct annual physical inventory checks to detect losses and thefts.
ATF reported that in 2007 it found 30,000 guns missing from dealer inventories
based on its inspection of just 9.3% of gun dealers.
Tiahrt Amendments restrict what state and local law enforcement can
do with trace data they have gathered. For example, state and local law
enforcement are still prohibited from using trace data in civil proceedings to
suspend or revoke the license of a gun dealer who was caught breaking the law.
The Tiahrt Amendments require the Justice Department to destroy the record of a
buyer whose NICS background check was approved within 24 hours. This makes it
harder to catch law-breaking gun dealers who falsify their records, and it makes
it more difficult to identify and track straw purchasers who buy guns on behalf
of criminals who wouldn't be able to pass a background check.
Tiahrt is the former U.S. Representative for Kansas's 4th congressional district, serving from 1995 until 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Some groups, including the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition, believe that having further access to the ATF database would help municipal police departments track down sellers of illegal guns and curb crime. These groups are trying to undo the Tiahrt Amendment.[6] Numerous police organizations oppose the Tiahrt Amendment, such as the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).[7] Conversely, the Tiahrt Amendment is supported by the National Rifle Association
ATF has lost any credibility when they decided the way to fight illegal gun sales was to sell guns to thousands of straw buyers and see what happened. They are responsible for THOUSANDS of illegal guns sales from just that single operation. Makes me wonder how many other times they did this and did not tell anyone.
I also like how anti-2A's used those sales a proof that we needed tighter controls when it was the governing body in charge of enforcing those laws who BROKE them.
Gun stores WILL conduct inventory checks on their own. They just don't tell ATF. They are a business. Having piles of inventory disappear costs them money. Businesses do not like losing money. Sorry but anytime the government decides they want to catalog citizens, people get nervous. Especially when the press is completely set on releasing PII online. For those who think doing so for gun purchases/permits is nice, how would you feel about posting all DMV records online. Let folks query by vehicle, license plate, get maps of all Lexus/BMW/Jag owners in a neighborhood...
Sorry for the double blast...
"The Tiahrt Amendments require the Justice Department to destroy the record of a
buyer whose NICS background check was approved within 24 hours."
Absolutely the right way to go. If I buy a firearm and I prove I am a law abiding citizen, then WHY should the government keep a permanent record of my purchase? It is NONE of their business. Their job is to validate that the PURCHASER meets legal requirements for the purchase. That's all. It is NOT to build a gun owner registry so they can abuse their citizens.
If you can buy thousands of guns and as a straw purchaser disperse them to thousands of people who are crazy, felons, or terrorists that's a problem. After you legally purchase the gun you can do anything with it. Private people who make thousands of purchases are not keeping all those guns for themselves and if we are serious about limiting "bad people's" access to guns we need to be able to stop this.
Really, you think that they didn't report it to the police or to the ATF but that all these guns disappeared versus being sold to people who couldn't pass background checks?
And a "double blast" back at you LOL
ATF reported that in 2007 it found 30,000 guns missing from dealer inventories based on its inspection of just 9.3% of gun dealers. Less than 10% had 30,000 guns missing, that didn't happen by accident!
Citizens a being killed because of this!
But wait...there are laws banning him from owning them....laws work. They keep us all shiny and safe right? That's why I need to lay down my 2A rights, cause the laws will make us a safer place.
Another example of the feds not doing their damn job and enforcing the law !!!
Help get rid of the reasons this country has gone to sh!it!!!
these progressive democrats sit around in their circle jerk campfires stoned and they want us to conform.
go here to sign a petition to force obama to enforce the federal bans on marijuana and uphold the laws on immigration.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/enforce-current-federal-bans-marijuana-and-immigration/RJbsP4tV
Maybe if the ATF stopped selling guns to the Mexican Cartels and focused on enforcing laws, perusing gun shows for violators, and doing their jobs, then we would be able to enforce the laws better.
He probably didn't buy the stuff at a gun show. He probably had his cousin Bubba buy them for him, or he stole them.
Why is this in national headlines? Some clown has illegal guns. Something for the people in his home town to gossip about. Not something to generate international outrage.
LOL
A new poll shows huge public support for a number of key provisions of President Obama's new proposal on guns and violence post- Sandy Hook. Gun control polls far better than people realize.
Reuters:
Sorry, NRA, this looks like it is going to eat into your propaganda campaign and your profits. Eat your hearts out gun fanatics. If the majority of Americans demand more rational regulation in direct compliance with the 2nd Amendment, you will have to learn to live with it or go to Yemen or some other place still living in the 18th Century...LMAO
The polls sponsored by the gooberment always show results favorable to what the gooberment wants to do.
The polls sponsored by the gooberment always show results favorable to what the gooberment wants to do.
The polls sponsored by the gooberment always show results favorable to what the gooberment wants to do.
What good is having more laws if we can't even enforce what we have?
And what good is restricting the gun rights of law abiding citizens when we can't get these weapons out of the hands of criminals and whack jobs?
To all of you who are trying to make a statement to the gun owners. Give it up, all of the gun owners who are writing here do not listen to reason! If they did they would recognize the fact that Licensing, gun registration, and mandatory locking of guns is the sensible solution.
I was shot at with a rifle from an upstairs window (in the US). It was in the hands of a mentally unstable person. Where did the gun come from? It belonged to his son. Who by the way had just been released from prison for assault. If we had licensing, and registration then the incident would never have happened.
Suggestions of a different way to prevent this from happening? Other than my suggestions? Oh, yeah, the gun owners would say that I should have had a gun. Right, so I could go to jail... Not happening.
Don you have nailed the problem. It's the criminals and whack jobs with guns who are creating these tragedies. Why did someone who had been in prison for assault still have their gun? Why was it in a house where a mentally unstable person had access to it?
The reason why is that the laws have huge holes in them- Have a look at my post above
Ridiculous. We need to make it illegal for convicted murderers to have firearms...oh wait.....
I am sure the NRA, ET AL, will contribute to Schmidt's "Legal Defense Fund". I mean, they can't let a "Brother in Arms" fend for himself in this anti-gun environment, can they...
No, Will. Every single NRA member will agree that he should be on his own with this and be punished to the full extent of the law if he is indeed the one who acquired and possessed these weapons. Also, the Feds should find out who he got them from and if it is found to be that a crime was committed there, that person or persons too, should be prosecuted. Then the Feds should turn their eyes back to themselves and look into Fast and Furious.
Brilliant Will, except that the NRA doesn't support illegal gun ownership. You are voted DA of the day.
SURPRISE !!! GUN LAWS DO NOT WORK. How many of you cowards would like to face this guy under civil unrest without a weapon ?
Hey Wayne, is this guy the NRA's poster-child??? This is who you and the NRA leadership are; law abiding my butt!
Oh OH here come the Brain Surgeons ! This ought to be good LMAO .... After 3 Billion Dollars investigating ....
"Federal agents are trying to determine how a suspected Ohio white supremacist with a felony conviction for manslaughter acquired a cache of 18 assault weapons and other firearms, along with high-capacity magazines and more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition...." He probably got them from Eric Holder and Obama's Fast and Furious gun sale. Holder and Obama do have a history of selling guns to known drug traffickers (felons). It might not be a stretch to think that there is a domestic form of Fast and Furious. Maybe it is called. "Slow and Sloppy"?
It was likely from the BATF gunrunners, managed by none other than comrad Holder.
Another question might be, why is a crazy man like this not still in prison being shared by Bubba and Billy Bob?
I hope he got them from a Gun Show. We need a case to expose the Gun show loophole. I do not see what is wrong with just making sure the wrong people do not have guns.
When I adopted a dog there was more investigation on me than any gun owner has had to go through. I find it unreal that we cannot close just this one loophole.
It's not the gun shows that have a loop hole, loopy fly. It is your state laws. If your state laws don't allow it, the people at gun shows can't do it. duh, what?
Not just problems with state laws, federal too.
While dealers must notify ATF if they discover that guns from their inventories
have been lost or stolen, the Tiahrt Amendments prevent ATF from requiring gun
dealers to conduct annual physical inventory checks to detect losses and thefts.
ATF reported that in 2007 it found 30,000 guns missing from dealer inventories
based on its inspection of just 9.3% of gun dealers.
Tiahrt Amendments restrict what state and local law enforcement can
do with trace data they have gathered. For example, state and local law
enforcement are still prohibited from using trace data in civil proceedings to
suspend or revoke the license of a gun dealer who was caught breaking the law.
The Tiahrt Amendments require the Justice Department to destroy the record of a
buyer whose NICS background check was approved within 24 hours. This makes it
harder to catch law-breaking gun dealers who falsify their records, and it makes
it more difficult to identify and track straw purchasers who buy guns on behalf
of criminals who wouldn't be able to pass a background check.
In this age of the proliferation of Federal laws on the books (tens of thousands) and this administration's attempts at producing a Socialist State before they're run out of office, the laws already on the books are more than sufficient. The president knows this. Congress knows this. True Americans know this. The existing laws need to be enforced. If ANY more money needs to be thrown at the problem we have in Societal Violence today, it should be in the form of ENFORCEMENT, not additional regulations. The weapons used to commit crimes today are ILLEGAL ALREADY. That is, they are illegal for those committing the crimes to possess, purchase and own. What more needs to be done? ENFORCE the laws on the books, that's what. The government knows this. But if they don't have any new laws to write, bit@h about on the floors of the Senate and House and the West Wing, then they're quickly becoming useless as full time employees of the Citizen's of this country. This is the reason this administration has created more laws since Hussein took office than any other administration in the history of this country. JOB SECURITY. It matters not that the American people are the ones losing the battles for their rights. We are seeing a war on the rights of AMERICANS by its own government that the left knows will take decades to wage. They are patient. They are cunning. They seek to destroy the freedoms and way of life that millions of our men and women have given their lives to earn, protect and maintain.
To our forefathers: We (those of us who abhor the path toward destruction we are on) apologize for rendering your sacrifices null and void. Those in power have abused our trust for years now - and they've done so with such cunning that they have managed to win the permission of millions of the weaker of mind and will by promising they won't have to work for their own family's provision, health, or future. They have led them, as sheep to the slaughter, despite the outcries of those of us who are independent, patriotic and desire to be free of a tyrannical and oppressive government. They know that they can have their way with due time and patience by whittling away at the very thing that makes us free - our right to make choices of our own, and the freedom to live with the consequences and rewards of those choices.
Just a thought. What are the FEDS going to do to Eric Holder?
He got his guns at a gun show with no background check! That's a no brainer! That is how all convicted felons in this country can get guns!! It's time Congress stop that practice!!
Because this story fits the gun hating Leftist Democrat media template, this will be the last we hear of this guy and his story. I would like to see it through to its conclusion. 18 guns is hardly an arsenal. Who knows if they really belonged to him? Maybe they did. Included in his "stash" is listed the dreaded AR-15, also the brand name Ruger and Sig Sauer for good (bad) media exposure. To my best recollection, there is not a bullet "proof" vest as yet. Is it against the law to be a neo-Nazi? How about a Black Panther? Of course, the media plays up the Hitler/Nazi/SS angle. Maybe, instead of slamming this person, the Feds and the peace loving fair minded and tolerant left should be asking, "What can we do to help this poor man?" "Did our education system fail him as a child?" What Federal program can we put in place to prevent this sort of tragedy from happening again?"
He basically got every one thru a source other than a FFL holding dealer. Yes, that could include gunshows from private sellers, not people with tables at those gunshows. And to be quite frank, new expanded background checks are fine except that if the person selling is not the original owner of the gun, they don't have to care about a background check. If they bought the gun from a private seller, they can sell to anyone if they wanted to. Only way to be impliminted is the buyer telling who sold them the gun. And if names are not exchanged, no recourse at all. An example is I own 2 rifles, a shotgun and several pistols that I bought from dealers or pawn shops that issue a background check and any of those would require a background check to sell. However I also own one pistol that I bought from a guy I worked with and did so at work, no background check there. That one I can sell without a background check if I wanted to. I won't as it is the one that I carry, but it is possible.
I bought all my guns off the street. If obama has his way, ALL guns will be obtained this way.
I was reading about the billions it was going to cost to enforce obamas 23 "rules". Couldn't that money be used to go after the criminals, not allowed to have guns?
....“The sad reality is there are people around this country who are building up enormous arsenals of weapons because they think the end is coming -- either a race war, or the new world order … or some other form of apocalypse....
And this is wrong because?
Because the liberal elitist in this country and their brainwashed minions do not want you to be able to fend or care for yourself, but to rely on them for what is best for you.