Man with alleged stockpile of weapons, ammunition charged with several counts of illegal possession
May 30—Allegations also included the making of bombs
An Austin man has been charged with several counts of illegal weapons possession discovered during a search that turned up a stockpile of guns and ammunition he was keeping at his home.
Jonathan Julio Nique, 22, was charged Friday with eight felony counts of receiving or possessing a firearm with no serial number, one for each weapon that had been discovered without the required number during the execution of a search warrant earlier this week.
However, that was just the tip of the iceberg as law enforcement uncovered over 40 items that included everything from guns, gun parts and ammunition to computer towers and items allegedly used to make explosive devices.
Of those materials, law enforcement secured 29 guns of various kinds including several that were 3D printed.
Nique made his first appearance in Mower County District Court Friday morning on this and another case in which he was discovered entering the Mower County Courthouse with .22 caliber ammunition.
He was arrested for that case at around 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday morning when he was arriving for a hearing, the same day that the search warrant was executed at his home in the 800 block of 14th Avenue SE.
According to the court complaint, an Austin Police officer was alerted to the activity by a witness on May 24, who told the officer that Nique allegedly had been seen with what appeared to be a pipe bomb while making comments about making the bombs and blowing up a building if he wanted to.
A pair of detectives met with the witness, along with another, regarding the report and were shown a picture that appeared to show a suspected pipe bomb. They also estimated that Nique had approximately 30 firearms at the house.
The court complaint also reflects that the detectives had been told that Nique had allegedly used cocaine and that when one of the witnesses had asked "hypothetically" what buildings Nique was considering blowing up, he allegedly responded by saying the Gonda building, which is a Mayo Clinic facility in Rochester, the Olmsted County Government Center, Minnesota State Capitol building and a synagogue.
The court complaint also reveals that the witnesses claimed Nique to have White Nationalist viewpoints and had made racist comments. Nique reportedly also has anti-law enforcement sentiments and had allegedly said he would not be afraid to shoot police if pulled over.
During the search, law enforcement also recovered the supposed pipe bomb and while it did not have explosives in it, a container of nails was next to the pipe along with containers of smaller metal objects and powders.
The bomb squad assisting with the search indicated the powder was likely from matchsticks.
After Nique had been arrested Wednesday, he was questioned and indicated statements about blowing up government and religious buildings were only jokes, but when asked for an example said he didn't want to get into it, but they were jokes a person should not make.
Nique's next court appearance is slated for July 17, which will be an omnibus hearing.
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