ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A white supremacist and former member of the Atomwaffen Division was sentenced Friday to one year in prison for possessing firearms while being an unlawful drug user and making a false statement in order to illegally purchase a firearm.
Court documents say that in October 2017, Andrew Jon Thomasberg, 21, of McLean, purchased a semiautomatic rifle and claimed to be the true purchaser.
In fact, records say Thomasberg knew this statement was false and that he was purchasing the gun for a third party. He transferred that firearm to that third party after purchasing it. Thomasberg also possessed at least four firearms while unlawfully using controlled substances, including marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, and opium.
According to court documents and testimony, Thomasberg, who has a prior criminal conviction for a dangerous firearms offense, was associated with white supremacist organizations, such as Vanguard America, Atomwaffen Division, and Patriot Front.
In text messages, while Thomasberg possessed firearms and was a regular drug user, records say he glorified racially motivated violence and referred to mass shooters as “saints.”
Additionally, Thomasberg informed law enforcement that only one day before he was arrested, he had submitted an application to join Patriot Front. Patriot Front is “a white supremacist group whose members maintain that their ancestors conquered America and bequeathed it to them alone.”
