A former U.S. Navy SEAL, Gregory Vandenberg, 49, has been convicted for a plot to attack law enforcement officers with explosives during a planned 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.
Vandenberg was traveling from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego in advance of the June 14, 2025, demonstrations when he stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico. There, he purchased six mortar-style fireworks and 72 M-150 firecrackers. During the transaction, Vandenberg reportedly told a store clerk that he intended to throw the explosives at law enforcement officers during the protests. According to federal authorities, he inquired about the gunpowder content of the fireworks, the potential for increased explosive force by taping mortars together, and stated his sole interest was in their capacity to injure officers.
Evidence presented during the trial indicated that Vandenberg also encouraged the clerk to attend the protests and distribute fireworks, assuring the employee that his military experience would prevent him from being harmed. This conversation prompted the store employees to note Vandenberg's license plate and contact law enforcement before he could reach California.
Federal agents located Vandenberg at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he was arrested the following morning while asleep in his vehicle. Initially, he claimed he was traveling for work, despite being unemployed, and later told investigators he was visiting friends in Phoenix.
A search of Vandenberg's vehicle uncovered the fireworks, along with clothing bearing antisemitic, anti-Israel, and extremist imagery. Among the recovered items were shirts displaying an Al-Qaeda flag, apparel with a phrase calling for the destruction of Judea, a hat with the Al-Qaeda flag, and clothing featuring a variation of the Black Sun symbol, which is associated with neo-Nazi ideology. Investigators also found Vandenberg's cellphone, which displayed a Taliban flag on its home screen. A forensic analysis of the phone revealed content described by prosecutors as violent extremist material, including antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-U.S. content, as well as messages discussing the upcoming protests. Prosecutors argued that these messages indicated Vandenberg's belief that the U.S. government was controlled by Israel and Jewish people, which helped establish his motive for targeting law enforcement.
"People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully," Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison stated. "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.