2 arrested with arsenal and Nazi paraphernalia after base robbery were ex-military, prosecutors say
SEATTLE — Two men arrested in Washington state with an arsenal that included dozens of guns, explosives and body armor, along with Nazi paraphernalia, were former military members who attacked a soldier with a hammer while stealing gear from Joint Base Lewis-McChord last weekend, investigators say.
Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields were arrested Monday night at their home in Lacey, near Olympia, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. Federal court records did not list an attorney for either man.
One of the defendants told investigators the pair had been stealing equipment from the base for the past two years to sell or trade, and agents found about $24,000 in cash at the home, wrote Special Agent Christopher J. Raguse of the Army Criminal Investigation Division.
Washington state business license records show that Frakes and Fields have a company called Sovereign Solutions, which featured an "SS" logo with the letters separated by a lightning bolt. Its website advertises "Quality Training and Equipment for the Modern Warfighter," including marksmanship classes, as well as a T-shirt with the company logo and the words "Professional War Crime Committer."
The federal complaint charges them with robbery, assault and theft of government property. They also face investigation on state charges of unlawful possession of incendiary devices, short-barreled rifles and a machine gun. Each was being held at the Thurston County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Agents found rifles staged at the upstairs windows, a probable cause affidavit filed in Thurston County Superior Court said. The federal complaint said agents "observed numerous Nazi/white supremacy memorabilia, murals, and literature in every bedroom and near several stockpiles of weapons and military equipment."
Photos from inside the home included in court documents showed a wall decorated with a red Nazi flag emblazoned with a black swastika and a black SS flag — the letters shaped like lightning bolts — referencing the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi paramilitary led by Heinrich Himmler.
According to the complaint, a soldier entered a building at the Army Ranger compound at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Sunday night and found two men, partially masked, with a cluster of U.S. Army property around them. The soldier questioned them about what they were doing and told them to pull down their masks, which they did.
A fight ensued, and one of the men brandished a hammer and struck the soldier in the head. The soldier continued to fight despite losing a large amount of blood and managed to get control of the hammer — at which point, one of the men pulled a knife. The soldier then let them go, the complaint said.
They had attempted to steal about $14,000 worth of body armor, ballistic helmets and communications equipment Sunday, most of which they left behind when they dropped their rucksacks as they fled, the complaint said.
During the fight, one of the men dropped his hat. It said "Fields" on the inside. Using base entry logs and surveillance video, investigators determined that Fields and Frakes had entered Lewis-McChord together about an hour before the attack, investigators said.
Additionally, the wounded soldier, who required hospital treatment, told investigators that he asked around his unit about the name Fields after finding it on the hat. The soldier learned that Fields had been assigned to the Ranger Battalion around 2021, and he was able to identify him as one of the attackers based on photos shown to him by others in his unit, the complaint said.
The men had access to the base because they were veterans, the probable cause statement filed in state court said.
Court documents did not include details of Frakes' military service. Public information officers for Department of Defense, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Army CID did not immediately provide further information about the men's service history in response to requests from The Associated Press.
The FBI executed a search warrant at a home shared by the defendants on Monday and arrested them.
Authorities said agents seized about 35 firearms at the home, including short-barreled rifles and an MG42 machine gun — a type typically supported with a bipod and which was used by German troops during World War II.
Other seized gear included 3D-printed silencers and Army-issued gear that included explosives such as smoke grenade and blasting caps, ballistic plates and helmets, and night-vision devices, authorities said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
2 days ago
- NBC News
2 arrested with arsenal and Nazi paraphernalia after base robbery were ex-military, prosecutors say
SEATTLE — Two men arrested in Washington state with an arsenal that included dozens of guns, explosives and body armor, along with Nazi paraphernalia, were former military members who attacked a soldier with a hammer while stealing gear from Joint Base Lewis-McChord last weekend, investigators say. Levi Austin Frakes and Charles Ethan Fields were arrested Monday night at their home in Lacey, near Olympia, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court. Federal court records did not list an attorney for either man. One of the defendants told investigators the pair had been stealing equipment from the base for the past two years to sell or trade, and agents found about $24,000 in cash at the home, wrote Special Agent Christopher J. Raguse of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Washington state business license records show that Frakes and Fields have a company called Sovereign Solutions, which featured an "SS" logo with the letters separated by a lightning bolt. Its website advertises "Quality Training and Equipment for the Modern Warfighter," including marksmanship classes, as well as a T-shirt with the company logo and the words "Professional War Crime Committer." The federal complaint charges them with robbery, assault and theft of government property. They also face investigation on state charges of unlawful possession of incendiary devices, short-barreled rifles and a machine gun. Each was being held at the Thurston County Jail on $500,000 bail. Agents found rifles staged at the upstairs windows, a probable cause affidavit filed in Thurston County Superior Court said. The federal complaint said agents "observed numerous Nazi/white supremacy memorabilia, murals, and literature in every bedroom and near several stockpiles of weapons and military equipment." Photos from inside the home included in court documents showed a wall decorated with a red Nazi flag emblazoned with a black swastika and a black SS flag — the letters shaped like lightning bolts — referencing the Schutzstaffel, the Nazi paramilitary led by Heinrich Himmler. According to the complaint, a soldier entered a building at the Army Ranger compound at Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Sunday night and found two men, partially masked, with a cluster of U.S. Army property around them. The soldier questioned them about what they were doing and told them to pull down their masks, which they did. A fight ensued, and one of the men brandished a hammer and struck the soldier in the head. The soldier continued to fight despite losing a large amount of blood and managed to get control of the hammer — at which point, one of the men pulled a knife. The soldier then let them go, the complaint said. They had attempted to steal about $14,000 worth of body armor, ballistic helmets and communications equipment Sunday, most of which they left behind when they dropped their rucksacks as they fled, the complaint said. During the fight, one of the men dropped his hat. It said "Fields" on the inside. Using base entry logs and surveillance video, investigators determined that Fields and Frakes had entered Lewis-McChord together about an hour before the attack, investigators said. Additionally, the wounded soldier, who required hospital treatment, told investigators that he asked around his unit about the name Fields after finding it on the hat. The soldier learned that Fields had been assigned to the Ranger Battalion around 2021, and he was able to identify him as one of the attackers based on photos shown to him by others in his unit, the complaint said. The men had access to the base because they were veterans, the probable cause statement filed in state court said. Court documents did not include details of Frakes' military service. Public information officers for Department of Defense, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Army CID did not immediately provide further information about the men's service history in response to requests from The Associated Press. The FBI executed a search warrant at a home shared by the defendants on Monday and arrested them. Authorities said agents seized about 35 firearms at the home, including short-barreled rifles and an MG42 machine gun — a type typically supported with a bipod and which was used by German troops during World War II. Other seized gear included 3D-printed silencers and Army-issued gear that included explosives such as smoke grenade and blasting caps, ballistic plates and helmets, and night-vision devices, authorities said.
NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
Deported Guatemalan man back in U.S. after judge orders Trump administration to return him
A Guatemalan man who was deported by the Trump administration and then was ordered to be returned by a judge because of due process concerns is back in the United States, his attorney said Wednesday. The man, identified in court documents only as O.C.G., landed in the U.S. 'a few hours ago' and contacted his legal team upon arrival, Trina Realmuto, executive director of the National Immigration Litigation Alliance said Wednesday evening. O.C.G. was expected to be taken into federal custody, Realmuto said. The Trump administration deported O.C.G. to Mexico, where he had previously been held for ransom and raped as he traveled north to the U.S., in February. O.C.G. was put on a bus and sent to Mexico despite a federal judge granting O.C.G. a withholding of removal just two days earlier, court documents show. A withholding of removal is an order that prevents the United States from deporting someone to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened, based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group 'The Court has already found it likely that O.C.G.'s removal lacked due process,' U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy wrote in May, when he ordered the Trump administration to return him. Murphy, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, also wrote in that order that the government didn't put forth any evidence that due process was followed. 'The likelihood that O.C.G. is correct in asserting that his due-process rights were violated, in this Court's view, has long hovered near certainty,' Murphy wrote. O.C.G. is not the only person who has been deported from the United States only to have federal judges then order that the Trump administration return them. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was a deported in March to a notorious megaprison in El Salvador, and the Trump administration has not yet facilitated his return to the U.S. as ordered by a federal judge. Politico reported in May that another man, Venezuelan national Daniel Lozano-Camargo, was deported to the same prison, and a judge has ordered the U.S. to return him as well. O.C.G. fled Guatemala, where he said he endured persecution and torture, and came to the U.S. to claim asylum in March of 2024, but was denied and deported, according to court records. He then tried again, and while in Mexico traveling north to the U.S. he was held for ransom, raped and targeted for being gay, he said in a court declaration. In May 2024, a U.S. asylum officer determined O.C.G. 'had a reasonable fear' to return to Guatemala and was taken into immigration custody to see his case through. In February, an immigration judge determined that O.C.G. would most likely be persecuted if deported to his native Guatemala, and granted him a withholding of removal, court records show. Instead, he was placed on a bus to Mexico a few days later, without any notice. Mexico then sent him to Guatemala, where he went into hiding, according to court records, before he was returned to the U.S. Wednesday.
NBC News
3 days ago
- NBC News
Washington state raid after two men attempt to rob military base
Authorities say a raid in Washington state turned up weapons and Nazi and white supremacist material. Two men were arrested and now face charges of robbery, assault and attempted theft of government property. NBC News' Courtney Kube has more.
