A federal jury convicted Hatchet Speed of Falls Church, Virginia on charges of unlawful possession of unregistered silencers.
Speed began panic-buying firearms in early 2021; from February to May 2021, Speed purchased at least twelve firearms and spent more than $40,000 at ammunition stores. In March 2021, Speed purchased three silencers from a company in Georgia. Although required by law, the silencers were not registered to Speed in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
In early 2022, Speed met with an undercover employee of the FBI. During these meetings, Speed discussed his antisemitic, anti-government ideologies with the FBI undercover employee. Speed also discussed taking violent action in furtherance of his ideologies. Speed praised the approach of jihadists and suggested that their approach would effectively “wipe out” the opposition, referring to Jewish people. Speed discussed his efforts to identify targets who were “reachable” by someone like him, stating that he thought about using a “mock trial” to decide which people to add to “the list.” During this discussion, Speed confirmed to the FBI undercover employee that his “solvent traps,” meaning his unregistered silencers, would come in handy for this purpose.
Speed faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on April 13th.
