Former U.S. Navy SEAL Gregory Vandenberg has been convicted on federal charges for plotting to attack law enforcement officers with explosives during a "No Kings" protest in California. The conviction came after a five-day federal trial where jurors deliberated for approximately three hours before returning a guilty verdict on charges of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California.
Prosecutors stated that Vandenberg was traveling from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego on June 14, 2025, when he stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico. During the stop, he purchased six mortar-style fireworks and 72 M-150 firecrackers. Surveillance footage captured Vandenberg speaking with a store employee during the purchase.
Federal authorities reported that Vandenberg disclosed his intentions to the clerk, expressing a desire to throw explosives at law enforcement during the upcoming protests. He inquired about the gunpowder content of the fireworks and how taping multiple mortars together might increase their explosive force, indicating his sole interest was their capacity to injure officers. Vandenberg also reportedly encouraged the clerk to attend the protests and distribute fireworks, assuring the employee he would not be harmed due to his military background.
Alarmed by the conversation, the store employees recorded Vandenberg's license plate number and contacted law enforcement. Federal agents subsequently tracked Vandenberg to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he was arrested the following morning while asleep in his vehicle. At the time of his arrest, Vandenberg was unemployed and falsely claimed he was traveling for work, later telling investigators he was visiting friends in Phoenix.
A search of Vandenberg's vehicle revealed the fireworks, along with clothing displaying antisemitic, anti-Israel, and extremist imagery. Items recovered included shirts with an Al-Qaeda flag motif, apparel calling for the destruction of Judea, a hat featuring the Al-Qaeda flag, and clothing bearing a variation of the Black Sun symbol, which is associated with neo-Nazi ideology.
Jurors were also shown photographs of Vandenberg wearing a T-shirt with the word "AMALEK," which prosecutors indicated Vandenberg told investigators meant "destroyer of Jews." A Taliban flag was displayed on his cellphone's home screen. A forensic examination of the phone uncovered content described by prosecutors as violent extremist material, including antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-U.S. content, alongside messages discussing the planned protests.
Prosecutors argued that messages found on Vandenberg's phone suggested a belief that the U.S. government, including President Donald Trump, was controlled by Israel and Jewish people, presenting this as evidence of his motive for targeting law enforcement.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison stated, "People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully. What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others." Ellison added that Vandenberg "intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation" and that the verdict "sends the message that attempts to substitute violence for expressing one's opinion has no place in our communities and will be met with federal consequences."
Vandenberg was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and will serve one year of supervised release upon his release.
