Los Angeles white supremacist sentenced to federal prison on gun charges
A Los Angeles man with a history of associating with a violent white supremacist group has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison.
Ryan Scott Bradford, 35, of Reseda, was sentenced Friday to 57 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of ammunition and possessing eight “conversion devices” that allow for semi-automatic firearms to function as machine guns.
He previously pleaded guilty to the federal weapons charges in January.
Bradford is a known associate of an extremist white supremacist group in the San Fernando Valley, prosecutors said in a criminal affidavit filed last year.
Using an online moniker that referenced his affiliation with the group, Bradford would post racist messages targeting Jewish people, including calling for “mass murder and genocide of Jews,” according to the United States Department of Justice.
He also posted links on the messaging platform Telegram, which included instruction manuals for hand grenades, information about biological warfare, and calling for an “Aryan Revolution.”
The DOJ said he also offered to make firearms and firearm parts for others using 3D printers.
Bradford’s home was raided last July by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles Police Department.
During that search, authorities recovered 116 rounds of various ammunition (which Bradford was prohibited from possessing due to a previous burglary conviction), two machine gun conversion devices for a “semi-automatic AR-15-type firearm,” and six fully automatic gun conversion devices for handguns known as “chips” or “switches.”
Those conversion devices are of high concern for federal law enforcement officials because they can be easily made using a 3D printer.
When authorities raided Bradford’s home, they discovered two 3D printers, one of which was emblazoned with Nazi symbols. They also recovered body armor with “SS bolts,” the insignia of the Schutzstaffel, Hitler’s personal police force.
Glass containers holding “explosive components” were also recovered during the search, officials said.
Prosecutors argued that Bradford had been involved in the illegal manufacture of guns for years and that the number of guns he was manufacturing “was not insubstantial,” which they say indicated he was working to arm himself and other like-minded individuals.
“This violent extremist not only made numerous threats to kill Jews, but also was amassing weapons capable of carrying out acts of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada in a news release issued Friday. “Hateful behavior of this sort has no place in our society, and we will continue to use all the tools available to protect the community from violence driven by racially motivated ideology.”
Mehtab Syed, acting assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, said its Joint Terrorism Task Force takes violent threats seriously and will investigate and arrest those who take part in criminal activity.
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