SPOKANE, Wash. — A former Fairchild airman was sentenced to 2 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of stolen ammunition.
According to court documents, the FBI and Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) opened an investigation into 31-year-old John Sanger from Rigby, Idaho.
The investigation started due to two social media accounts associated with Sanger that were “awakened cascadian” and “problematicpatriot.”
With these accounts, he allegedly discussed committing acts of violence to advance a political agenda.
In Dec. 2020, Sanger used his account to call for a violent seizure of the U.S. Capitol building stating, “They defrauded our election system and are still getting away with it. That means the system has run its course. People have to die.”
An undercover investigator met with Sanger and discussed topics including minorities, opposition to vaccines and targeting critical infrastructure. Sanger specifically mentioned targeting a Spokane County Public Health Building and COVID-19 testing site using a Molotov cocktail.
Later in March 2022, Sanger told an undercover officer that multiple Air Force members, stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane, were stealing ammunition. This is paid for by taxpayers and not for personal use.
Sanger received stolen ammunition from another Air Force member, Staff Sergeant Nathan Richards, of the Fairchild 92nd Security Forces Squadron Combat Arms Training Management (CATM) section.
On March 12, 2022, Sanger, the undercover officer, Richards and Staff Sergeant Eric Eagleton met at Fishtrap Lake to go target shooting.
While at the range, Richards had a plastic bag with hundreds of rounds of loose, green tip 5.56 M855 rounds and gave it to Sanger. Richards said that members of CATM would falsify records so that it appeared the stolen ammunition had been expended in the course of Air Force duties.
Then in April 2022, Sanger and Eagleton met in the parking lot at Northern Quest Resort and Casino. Eagleton gave Sanger a military-style ammunition can.
After they met, Sanger sent the undercover officer pictures of the stolen ammunition and a few days later he went shooting again at Fishtrap with 250 rounds.
The undercover officer met with Sanger at an RV park to give him an unregistered gun suppressor that he asked him to buy. As Sanger exited the RV park, he was arrested by the FBI and OSI special agents.
They executed a series of search warrants for Sanger’s home where they located several firearms, firearm parts, empty firearm magazines and ammunition. They also found numerous patches, stickers and paraphernalia associated with white supremacy and the neo-Nazi movement.
“Theft from the military is an affront to honorable men and women who dedicate their lives to government and military service in order to keep America safe and strong. I will not tolerate any abuse of trust by those charged to our great country,” stated U.S Attorney Waldref. “I applaud the tireless work and dedication of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and our Federal Prosecutors in bringing Mr. Sanger to justice.”
31-year-old John Sanger was sentenced to two years in prison and an additional three years of supervised release.
