US v. Frederick W. Thomas: FBI Affadavit

8/3/2019 US v. Frederick W. Thomas: FBI Affadavit

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AO 91 (Rev< 5185) Criminal Complaint

United States District Court

NORTHERN DISTRlCT OF GEORGIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v. CRIMINAL C O M P ~ r'Ltfj IN CLERK'S OFFICE

FREDERlCK W. THOMAS CASE NUMBER: 2: I 1-J'tiBf Gainesville

(UNDER SEAL)NOV 01 2011

(Name and Address of Defendant) B

I, the undersigned complainant being duly sworn state the following is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief

Beginning on date unknown, and continuing until on or about November 1,2011, in White and Stephens Counties, Georgia and

elsewhere, in the Northern District ofGeorgia defendant did,

combine, conspire, confederate, agree and have a tacit understanding with Emory Dan Roberts and others known and unknown, to

knowingly receive and possess firearms, specifically, a destructive device and a silencer not registered to them in the National

Firearms Registration and Transfer Record in violation of Title 26, United States Code, 5861(d) and 5871

in violation ofTitle 1Ji United States Code, Section(s) 371.

I further state that I am a Special Agent of Federal Bureau ofInvestigation and that this complaint is based on the following facts:

See attached affidavit.

Continued on the attached sheet and made a part hereof

David W. Wylie

Based upon this complaint, this Court finds that there is probable cause to believe that an offense has been committed and that

the defendant has committed it. Sworn to before me, and subscribed in my presence

"-N,.,,0'-'-v=em=be"'r'-'I"",..::2""O...o.I-=-I____________ at Gainesville, Georgia

Date City and State

SUSAN S. COLE

United States Magistrate Judge

Name and Title of Judicial Officer Signature of Judicial OfficerAUSA Jeffrey A. Brown

Case 2:11-mj-00102-SSC Document 1 Filed 11/01/11 Page 1 of 30



AFFIDAVIT

II David Wyl being f i r s t duly sworn I do hereby depose

and Sta te :

1 . I am a Special Agent with the Fede Bureau of

Invest iga t ion (FBI) and have been so employed fo r approximately

twenty f ive years . I am current ly assigned to the FBI 's

off ice in Gainesvi l Georgia. My inves t iga t ive responsibi l i ty

includes inves t iga t ing di f fe ren t federa l crimes such as bank

robberyI

bank fraud mortgage fraud and domestic t e rror i sm. I

have been involved in inves t iga t ions re la t ing to domestic

t e rror i sm and have part ic ipated in the execut ion of search

warrants and se ized evidence tha t re la tes to vio la t ions of

domestic t e rror i sm s ta tu tes . I know the following principal ly

based on information obtained from my inves t iga t ion and from

other la w enforcement of f i ce r s .

2. As a federa l agent I am authorized to inves t iga te

v io la t ions laws of the United States and to execute warrants

issued under the author i ty of the United Sta tes .

3. This af f idav i t i s in support of a request fo r a federa l

search warrant to be served upon and executed a t the residence

of Frederick W. Thomas 2265 Dean Mountain Road Cleveland l

Georgia 30528 1 more ful ly descr ibed as a two s tory s ingle

1




family residence with a basement located wi th in White County.

The exter ior i s brown plank s id ing . The proper ty consis t s of

tw o acres which includes the main residence and an outbui ld ing

separa ted from the main residence. The proper ty i s recorded on

the White County tax map as parcel number 088 091; to search fo r

evidence, contraband and f ru i t s of a crime as se t for th in

Exhibi t B (a t tached hereunto and express ly incorpora ted herein

by th i s reference) , as well as any vehic les located on the

proper ty and any out bui ld ings located on the proper t i e s . I am

also reques t ing author i ty to search the proper t i e s referenced in

paragraph 3 and any computers, and computer media located

there in where the i tems speci f ied in Attachment B may be found,

and to se ize a l l i tems l i s t ed in Attachment B as

ins t rumenta l i t i e s , f ru i t s , and evidence of a conspiracy to

possess an unregis tered s i lence r and dest ruct ive device in

v io la t ion of Ti t le 26, United States Code, Sect ions 5861 (d) ,

5871, a l l in v io la t ion of Ti t l e 18, United States Code, Sect ion

371, Conspiracy to murder federa l of f i a ls in vio la t ion of

Ti t l e 18, United States Code, Sect ion 1117, Theft of Government

Property and Ti t l e 18, United States Code, Sect ion 641.

4. This a f f i dav i t i s also being submitted for the purpose

of secur ing a complaint and warrant fo r the a r r e s t s of Freder ick

W. Thornag (THOMAS) for conspiring to posseBs an unregiBtered

2




s i l e n c e r and des t ruc t ive device i n v io l a t i o n o f Ti t l e 26 United

S t a t e Code, Sect ions 5861 (d) I 5871 1 a l l in v io l a t i o n o f Ti t l e

18 1 United S t a t e Code, Sect ion 371. I have not inc luded each

and every known f a c t concerning t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n ; r a th e r , I

have se t fo r th only th e f ac t s bel ieved necessary to e s t a b l i sh

probab le cause fo r the i s suance o f th e r eq u es t ed s ea rch warran t

compla int and a r r e s t warran t . However I even though I have not

inc luded every f a c t known to date in t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , I do

not b e l i ev e anything has been omi t ted which would v i t i a t e th e

probab le cause s e t fo r th h e re i n .

BACKGROUND OF THE INVESTIGATION

5 . On March 17, 2011 1 th e government ' s c o n f i d e n t i a l human

source (CHS1) consensual ly recorded a c l an d es t i n e meet ing

invo lv ing members o f a f r inge group of a known m i l i ti a

o rg an i za t i o n l with the f r inge group c a l l i n g i t s e l f th e "co v er t

group. II The meet ing occur red a t th e r e s id en ce o f F red e r i ck W.

Thomas (THOMAS) l o ca t ed a t 2265 Dean Mountain Road, Cleveland,

Georg ia , 30528 1 and a t t endees a t th e meet ing inc luded THOMAS I

Emory Dan Rober ts (ROBERTS), and othe rs . At th e o u t s e t o f t h i s

meet ing, th e a t t en d ees began discuss ing and then disp lay ing

var ious weapons each one was car ry ing on h is person . THOMAS

mentioned to th e group t h a t he had enough weapons to arm

everyone a t th e t a b l e . ROBERTS and CHSl e i t h e r d id no t have

3




weapons, o r did not make them vis ib le .

6. THOMAS became the primary speaker for the meeting and

began discussing overt and covert operat ions fo r the group. He

mentioned a f i c t iona l novel he had read on-l ine in which an ant i

government group ki l led a l a rge number of federa l Department of

Jus t ice at torneys , and then he s ta ted , "Now of course, t ha t ' s

jus t f i c t ion , but t ha t ' s a damn good idea . 1I THOMAS descr ibed a

scenar io in which he f e l t would be the " l ine in the sand" tha t

would resu l t in the act iva t ion of mil i t i a s . THOMAS bel ieved tha t

soon, during a pro t e s t act ion , a protes tor would be shot . I t i s

h is opinion the mil i t i as would ac t and respond by openly

at tacking the pol ice . He then openly discussed having compiled

what he ca l led the IIBucket Lis t l which i s a l i s t of government

employees, pol i t i c ians , corporate leaders and members of the

media he fee ls needed to be "taken out II to "make the country

r i gh t again ." THOMAS to ld the group he sen t the l i s t to a web

blog .

7. During the meeting, THOMAS made the fol lowing

statements:

a. "The r i gh t people have to be taken down, and taken

down soon."

b. "There i s no way for us, as mil i t iamen, to save

th i s country, to save Georgia, without doing something

4




t ha t ' s highly highly i l l e g a l . Murder. That ' s fucking

i l l ega l , but it's go t t a be done."

c . "When it comes t ime to saving the Cons t i tu t ion ,

t ha t means some people go t t a d ie . "

8. When murder was mentioned, ROBERTS sa id he knew people

in Habersham County [Georgia] who had a substance tha t could k i l l

people with a very small amount. CHS1 suggested ROBERTS was

t a lk ing about r i c i n , and someone e l se agreed, adding t ha t r i c in

i s made from cas to r beans . The conversa t ion then went in to a

discuss ion about cas to r beans and poss ib le ways to obta in them.

9. THOMAS spoke of the need for the group to acqui re more

weapons, ammo, food, and survival gear and then discussed the

need fo r th e group to es tab l i sh a s i l en t means of taking people

ou t . THOMAS suggested s i l encers fo r handguns, s t a t i ng , "In orde r

to do what we want to do, t ake out the r i g h t people , we have to

have some s i l e n t means of doing it. That means suppressors on

handguns."

10. THOMAS s ta ted they needed to f ind a machinist wi th the

a b i l i t y to manufacture s i l encers and not r e g i s t e r them with the

ATF. THOMAS sa id t h i s was necessary to prevent them from being

t raced back to an owner i f they were l o s t .THOMAS

also mentioned

a gun s to re near the Georgia/South caro l ina border t ha t

manufactures s i l encers and he commented tha t they should consider

5




"hi t t ing the t ruck ," meaning they should s t ea l the s i lence rs from

the t rucks .

11. On Apr i l 3, 2011, CHSI consensual ly recorded a meeting

with THOMAS and ROBERTS a t a res t au ran t in nor theas t Georgia. The

at tendees ta lked about acqui r ing ammunition and equipment,

par t i cu l a r l y s i lence rs fo r f i rearms. THOMAS suggested tha t they

buy, s t ea l , make, or at tack a manufac turer ' s t ruck in order to

obta in the s i lence rs . THOMAS also ta lked again about h is "Bucket

Lis t" of people he thought should be ki l l ed . During the meeting,

THOMAS s ta ted tha t he thought they could " f igh t off a SWAT team."

He also s ta ted , " I ' ve been to war, and I ' ve taken l i f e before ,

and I can do it aga in ."

12. On Apr i l 16, 2011, CHSI consensual ly recorded another

meeting of the "covert group, /I again a t the residence of THOMAS

located a t 2265 Dean Mountain Road, Cleveland, Georgia, 30528.

Attendees included CHSl, THOMAS, ROBERTS and others . During the

meeting THOMAS discussed the need fo r the group to s t a r t moving

forward with taking act ion in some of t h e i r previous ly discussed

plans , inc luding a number of assass inat ions on var ious government

of f ic ia l s .

13. THOMAS also explained to the others present tha t he

in tended to model t he i r act ions on the p lo t of an onl ine novel

ca l l ed Absolved. The p lo t of Absolved involves small groups of

6




c i t i z e n s a t t ack ing United Sta te s f ed e ra l law enforcement

r e p re s e n t a t i v e s and f ed e ra l judges . THOMAS expressed h is b e l i e f

t h a t they should conduct a number o f a s s a s s i n a t i o n s on var ious

government o f f i c i a l s , and he p a r t i c u l a r l y expressed a d e s i r e to

k i l l Department o f J u s t i c e (DOJ) and In t e rn a l Revenue Serv ice

(IRS) employees.

14. During th e meet ing, THOMAS made th e fol lowing

s ta tements :

a . "Civ i l i an government o p e ra t i v es i s who we ' re going to be

shoo t ing a t : IRS, ATF, FBI, and th e COpS."

b. "Who i s th e primary t op ic s , t a rg e t s ? DOJ. Everybody in

DOJ. That inc ludes j udges , ATF, IRS, and th e hierarchy

t he reof . II

c . " I could shoot ATF and IRS a l l day l ong . A ll the judges

and th e DOJ and t h e a t t o rn ey s and p ro secu t o r s . II

15. On Ap r i l 29, 2011 and Ap r i l 30, 2011, CHS1 consensual ly

recorded co n v ersa t io n s between, CHS1, THOMAS and ROBERTS while

t r ave l ing to and from a meet ing held in south Georgia on

04/30/2011. During a conversa t ion on A p r i l 30, 2011, THOMAS

ment ioned t h a t , while a t th e meet ing, he spoke to a second

c o n f i d e n t i a l source (CHS2) about acqu i r ing s i l en ce r s . THOMAS

r e i t e r a t e d th e need fo r th e group to o b t a i n s i l en ce r s to shoo t

people q u ie t l y . THOMAS sugges ted they o b t a i n u n reg i s t e r ed , .22

7




ca l iber long r i f l e s , cut them down and thread them to accommodate

a s i lence r . During the r ide , THOMAS asked ROBERTS whether he

(ROBERTS) thought they should t ry to grow t he i r group la rger , "or

s t ick to what we are planning on, assass inat ing 4 or 5 guys and

t ha t ' s i t ?" ROBERTS rep l ied , "I think probably we need both."

16. On May 17, 2011, CHS1 met with THOMAS and ROBERTS to

fur the r discuss the group 's plans. (This meeting was not

recorded. ) CHS1 reported tha t THOMAS indicated the group was

ready to move forward with acquir ing s i lence rs . At some poin t in

the conversat ion, explosives were mentioned and THOMAS became

very exci ted and sa id the group rea l ly needed to get some

explosives. THOMAS mentioned tha t he i s very disgrunt led with

the IRS and the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).

THOMAS ind ica ted tha t he was consider ing driving to the Atlanta

area to survey/ locate IRS and ATF bui ld ings .

17. ROBERTS mentioned he had recent ly been ta lking to an

individua l in Stephens County [Georgia], he descr ibed as a nloose

cannon, n who has manufactured r i c in . ROBERTS sa id tha t he had

personal ly seen the r i c in in powder form.

18. On May 21, 2011, CHS1 reported tha t THOMAS was

scheduling a t r ip to Atlan ta to conduct survei l lance on the IRS

and ATF bui ld ings on May 24, 2011. THOMAS invi ted ROBERTS and

CHS1 to r ide with him during the survei l lance .

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19. On May 24, 2011, THOMAS and CHS1 drove to Atlanta in

THOMAS's 2006 Red GMC Canyon Pickup Truck, l i cense pla te Georgia

BMB 0821. CHS1 consensual ly recorded the t r i p . THOMAS and CHS1

planned and conducted survei l lance on the ATF (2600 Century

Parkway, Atlanta, Georgia 30345) and the IRS (401 West Peachtree

St ree t NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30308) bui ld ings to plan and assess

fo r poss ib le at tacks .

While dr iv ing , THOMAS discussed with CHS1 the types of weapons

they wanted to acquire i l l ega l ly . While driv ing home a f t e r

conducting the reconnaissance, THOMAS and CHS1 discussed how to

conduct fur the r survei l lance ins ide and how to a t tack the

bui ld ings with explosives .

20. During the t r ip to Atlanta , THOMAS made the following

s tatements :

a. "Let ' s shoot the bas tards tha t we discover are ant i

American

or enemies of America, t reasonous. And to me the eas i e s t and

bes t way to do tha t i s to walk up behind them with a suppressed

.22. I am of the, uh, o ld school , Mafia; one behind the ear with

a .2 2 i s a l l you need.

b. "Of course a .40 Smith and Wesson or .45 ACP i s jus t as

good, even be t t e r , cause makes the whole head explode."

c. "Now of course this t r ip is reconnoitering. There's two

9




schools of thought on t h i s : go fo r the feds o r go fo r the locals_

And 11m inc l ined to consider both_II

d. "Weld have to blow the whole bui ld ing l l ike Timothy

McVeigh. II

e . " If we were gonna blow the bui ld ings would be smart

to h i t 'em both a t the same t ime_II

f . "Plant the explos ive r igh t up agains t the wall a

shaped charge. We can do it. OkaYI l e t / s do it then.1I

g. "We can so do our own homework on making from scra tch l

I Iortars what the he l l / s t ha t claymores and grenades. 1I

l

h. "We/ve got ta have a lo t of explos ives . 1I

21. On Apri l 30 1 2011 1 CHS2 consensual ly recorded a meeting

with THOMAS a t a r e s t s top near Macon, Georgia. THOMAS expressed

an i n t e re s t in acqui r ing weapons s i l encers and explosives from

CHS2 1 and he provided CHS2 with a handwri t t en list of 28 i tems he

would l ike to acquire fo r the cover t group. The l i s t consis t s of

f i rearms s i lence rs , and explos ives . THOMAS was under the

impression t ha t CHS2 could obta in the i tems fo r the group.

THOMAS informed CHS2 t ha t the covert group was looking fo r ways

to conduct assass ina t ions .

22. On June 9, 2011 1 an undercover employee (UCE)

consensual ly recorded a meeting with THOMAS and ROBERTS a t a

res t au ran t in Lavonia Georgia. (The UCE had been in t roduced to

10




THOMAS by CHS2 as an acquaintance who deals in blac::k market

weapons.) During the meeting, THOMAS to ld the UCE t ha t the group

would l ike to purchase s i lence rs and explosives from the UCE. The

UCE advised tha t he could probably obta in the requested mater ia l s

fo r them. THOMAS explained to the UCE tha t the "covert group II

was planning to carry out the act ions of the main characters from

the book Absolved. THOMAS to ld the UCE tha t he considered

himself to be expendable a t h is age, and was prepared to d ie i f

necessary. Both THOMAS and ROBERTS to ld the UCE tha t they have

speci f ic t a rge t s in mind. THOMAS added t ha t they had al ready

conducted survei l lance in support of t h e i r plan . THOMAS

discussed the manufacture of shape charges and e lec t ron ic

detonators , saying, "I can make a detonator , e lec t ronica l ly . I

At one po in t during the meeting, THOMAS also s ta ted "We know what

we wanna do. We know how to do it. But we need (unin te l l ig ib le)

prepared to do i t , so t ha t ' s what we're doing now . . . Making the

preparat ions , ge t t ing what we need so tha t when we go about doing

it, we are equipped. Don' t know when t ha t ' s gonna be i wi th in a

year I 'm sure ." Later in the meeting the UCE asks about t he i r

proposed t ime fo r acquir ing explosives and s i lence rs being

about a year, and ROBERTS responds, "a little l ess . "

23. THOMAS so made the fol lowing s ta tements during the

described meeting:

11




a. "Yea, uh, claymore mines, we can make these th ings, but

I 'd

ra ther have s tore bought, a rea l one."

b. "I could go to the guy 's house, I could f ind h is house,

okay, and shoot him in his back yard, as fa r as tha t goes."

c. "We need to place wi th in an ATF o r DEA big black van.

When they f i l l up the i r people, we're gonna take 'em a l l out a t

once."

d. "I a i n ' t worried about dying."

24. On June 24, 2011, CHS1 consensual ly recorded a meeting

with THOMAS and ROBERTS northeast Georgia to discuss br inging

another indiv idual in to the cover t group. During the meeting,

THOMAS t a lks about having "reconnoitered" government bui ld ings in

Atlanta. THOMAS then says, "And uh, they ' re surrounded by off i ce

bui ld ings . Now tha t doesn ' t mean we can ' t get a t the bui ld ing .

We can blow the bui ld ings up. It's doable. But uh, it also

means t ha t i f you're s ta t ioned somewhere in another building

nearby, or on, not on a roof , but ins ide , you can take out

se lec ted people with a sn iper r i f l e and suppressor ."

25. On June 28, 2011, CHS2 made a consensual ly recorded

phone ca l l to THOMAS. THOMAS expressed i n t e r e s t in obtaining

weapons and equipment for the "cover t group" from the UCE.

THOMAS s ta ted tha t he and the othe r members of the group have

12




begun physica l t r a in ing and f i tness to prepare fo r the physical

demands tha t t he i r plans may requi re .

26. On July 13 1 2011, UeE placed a consensual ly recorded

ca l l to THOMAS. THOMAS informed the ueE tha t the "covert groupl l

was still in te res ted in obta ining handgun and f Ie s i lencers

s ta t ing , "We still need a couple of the , urn, noise cancel lers

and we're gonna decide how we're gonna pay for t ha t so wei l l be

back to you on tha t . II THOMAS and the ueE discussed poss ib le

opt ions to bar t e r fo r the i tems tha t THOMAS would l ike to acqui re

from the ueE. Options discussed were THOMAS t rad ing homemade

bomb detona tors and unregis tered handguns t ha t he owns.

27. On July 16 1 2011 1 THOMAS rep l i ed v ia email to a July

IS , 2011 email tha t had been sent to THOMAS by the ueE. The

or ig ina t ing email from the ueE included two at tached videos , the

f i r s t video was for ty (40) seconds and the second was f i f t y - f ive

(55) seconds. The at tached videos displayed a cont ro l led

explosion t ha t was conducted under the supervis ion of an FBI

Spec Agent Bomb Technician (SABT) , and showed the detona t ion

o f an FBI SABT-built improvised explosive device. The ueE to ld

THOMAS t ha t the video was of th e type of product the ueE could

ge t fo r THOMAS. THOMAS sent the fol lowing response from h is

email account([email protected]) :

"Wonderful. Imagine! I used to do that for a l iving, and never

13


mailto:account([email protected]

mailto:account([email protected]



thought to put any aside. Helluva 'n e f fec t for so small a

package! In teres ted? You bet !!! 1111 show th i s to Cobra

(ROBERTS) 1 and then wei l l work out what we might be able to swap

for some. Thanks! II

28. During the course of the ins tan t inves t iga t ion CHS1,

CHS2 and VCE communicated with THOMAS v ia e-mai l . On April 41

2011, agents received records showing there was a Windstream

communications account a t THOMAS/s res idence l i s t ed in paragraph

3 in the name of Charlot te J . Thomas. Agents also learned tha t

THOMAS/s e-mail address([email protected]) i s associa ted

with the telephone b i l l associated with THOMAS/s res idence

located a t 2265 Dean Mountain Road Cleveland, Georgia 30528.

Also CHS1 reported tha t he observed a computer a t THOMAS/s

res idence while at tending the meeting on March 17, 2011 and a t

h is l a s t v i s i t to the res idence on August 20 1 2011. 29.

During the course of the inves t iga t ion of ROBERTS, THOMAS and

others af f i l i a t ed with the "cover t group," they have communicated

with each other ut i l iz ing emai l t ex t messaging and ce l lu l a r

te lephones for purposes of fur ther ing the i r agenda as out l ined in

th i s af f idav i t . Several of the emails exchanged between THOMAS

([email protected] , [email protected] ROBERTS

([email protected] ) and CHS1 discuss meeting places and

t imes, t ra ining agendas, equipment needs and other issues

14


mailto:address([email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



mailto:address([email protected]






per t inent to achieving the goals of both t he i r over t and cover t

mission. Fur ther , during the course of the i nves t iga t ion , THOMAS

has emailed CHS1 hundreds of open source a r t i c le s he obtained

from the in te rne t . Some the recent e-mails from ROBERTS and

THOMAS include an e-mai l from l [email protected] on October

25 1 2011 1 in response to CHS1's e-mai l about whether ROBERTS had

everything he needed fo r the upcoming meeting t ha t was held on

October 29, 2011. On October 18, 2011, CHS1 received an e-mai l

from THOMAS using email address [email protected] concerning

THOMAS's reques t for ass i s tance with es tab l i sh ing a new mil i t i a

group.

30. On July 18, 2011, CHS2 placed a consensual ly recorded

c a l l to THOMAS. CHS2 asked THOMAS who was in charge of the

"cover t groupll and THOMAS aff i rmed tha t he was in charge. Later

in the ca l l THOMAS s ta ted , "Am I the guy t ha t ' s leading? Yes, I

am. II THOMAS also to ld CHS2 t ha t the "cover t groupll in tended to

meet with the UCE about acqui r ing Itsupplies" and to discuss

potent ia l pr ices , re fer r ing to t he i r des i re to obta in mil i ta ry

grade equipment and weapons.

31. On July 18, 2011 1 UCE placed a consensual ly recorded

ca l l to THOMAS. THOMAS mentioned the emailed videos of a

detonated explosive t ha t the UCE had sent to THOMAS, saying tha t

he had showed i t to Cobra (ROBERTS) and t ha t ROBERTS had sa id 1

15








"Wow! II The UCE then asked " Is tha t what you guys are looking

for?U and THOMAS rep l ied , uYep, exact ly . U THOMAS discussed

t rad ing or bar ter ing some of h is unregis tered weapons fo r i tems

from the UCE. THOMAS also indica ted t ha t ROBERTS might have some

proper ty to swap fo r i tems from the UCE, ind ica t ing tha t he

(THOMAS) would l e t the UCE know about the poss ib le t rades "As

soon as I can get word from Cobra (ROBERTS) about what he wants

to swap. I had him put together a l i s t of what he ' s got so I can

g ive tha t to you, and then you can pick and choose. II THOMAS

reaff irmed his des i re to acqui re s i lence rs fo r 7.62 mil l imeter

r i f l e s . THOMAS to ld the UCE tha t the "cover t group" s t i l l had an

i n t e re s t in smal ler ca l iber s i lencers , but t ha t they were

pr io r i t i z ing the 7.62 r i f l e .

32. On August 1, 2011, CHS1 consensual ly recorded a meeting

with THOMAS, ROBERTS and another indiv idual in nor theas t Georgia.

They ta lked about acquir ing TNT and building t he i r own explosive

devices . They discussed var ious types of detonators , but seemed

to focus pr imar i ly on using pre-paid ce l l phones.

33. On August 13, 2011 CHS1 consensual ly recorded a meeting

with ROBERTS a t a res taurant in Cornel ia , Georgia. THOMAS was

supposed to a t tend , but jus t p r ior to the meeting, THOMAS cal led

to advise he would not be able to make i t . THOMAS s ta ted tha t

ROBERTS was fully briefed and could brief CHSI. At the meeting

16




ROBERTS provided CHS1 with an ICOM two way radio for team

communications. ROBERTS al leged tha t the radios had been s tolen

from the United States Army in Afghanistan.

34. A visual inspect ion of the radio provided to CHS1 by

ROBERTS revealed the exter ior se r i a l numbers and i den t i f i e r s have

been del ibera te ly ob l i t e ra ted . Upon powering up the radio the

t ex t i den t i f i e r s assigned to the channels ind ica te mil i ta ry uni t

nomenclature. At th i s time ef for t s are underway to determine the

s ta tus of the radio v ia the assigned elec t ronic se r ia l number.

35. On August 20, 2011, CHS1 consensual ly recorded a

meeting with THOMAS and ROBERTS a t THOMAS's res idence. During

the meeting, THOMAS made the following sta tement: "We need high

explosives , not j u s t run of the mil l explosives . Because we have

to make, fabr ica te , any number of weapons types: claymores,

grenades, shaped charges, RPG rockets , or bazooka rockets tha t

are shaped charges."

36. On September 11, 2011, UCE placed a consensual ly

recorded ca l l to THOMAS. THOMAS ta lked about wanting a s i l encer

for a r i f l e . The UCE asked, "Is tha t something you plan on

using?" THOMAS repl ied, "Oh yea, oh yea. Defini te ly ."

37. On September 20, 2011, CHS1 consensual ly recorded a

meeting with THOMAS and the UCE a t a res taurant in Lavonia,

Georgia. Prior to the arrival of the UCE, THOMAS talked to CHSI

17




about wanting a s i lence r , and he s ta ted , " l id love it fo r the M1A.

I f you ' re gonna use it as a sn iper r i f l e and actual ly k i l l

somebody, which I in tend to do, your bes t bet i s to clean the

weapon, u l t ra clean, load it with 5 rounds, put the suppressor on,

wipe it down clean, then put the rubber gloves on so when you pick

it up you a in / t l eavin ' pr i n t s . "

38. During the meeting with the UCE I THOMAS agreed to buy a

s i lence r and conversion par t s (to make a r i f l e fu l ly automatic)

from the UCE fo r himself in exchange fo r a gun t ha t he wil l t rade

to the UCE. THOMAS also agreed to purchase an explosive device

from the UCE fo r $1,000 with the cost being s p l i t between THOMAS I

ROBERTS and CHS1. THOMAS and the UCE agreed to conduct the

t ransac t ion in about 30 days from t he i r meeting.

39. Also during the meeting, the UCE asked THOMAS, "So you/re

more in te res ted in the o ther th ing ( referr ing to s i lencer) f irs t?/I

THOMAS rep l ied , "Yea, we have uhl a mission in mind l and I want to

get it carr ied out . /I The UCE also sa id to THOMAS, "I mean, you

obviously have a t a rge t because l ive t a lked to you about i t . "

THOMAS rep l i ed , "I do. 1I

40. On September 25, 2011, UCE placed a consensual ly recorded

ca l l to THOMAS. The conversat ion included the fol lowing:

UCE: "Now my quest ion i s , urn, as fa r as, I meanl potency I l ike

what do you, I mean do you want to take off a p i l l a r a t a bui ld ing ,

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a car , what?/I

THOMAS: "A car . "

DCE: "Okay, you want to be able to take a ca r off . /I

THOMAS: "Yea./I

VCE: "So something l ike you saw in tha t video i s gonna be good./I

THOMAS: "Oh yea. Perfect . / I

41. On October 15, 2011, CHSl consensual ly recorded a meeting

with THOMAS, ROBERTS and others a t 558 Lakeside Drive, Toccoa,

Georgia. CHSl met with THOMAS and ROBERTS to discuss th e purchase

of the explosive device from the DCE. The fol lowing conversa t ion

occurred:

CHSl : "You sent me an email, we pushed t h i s back to November

1s t, so we're good. Okay. A ll r igh t , I got , I got my money. You

got yours Dan?

(unin te l l ig ib le)

ROBERTS: "I'll be okay./I

CHS1: "Do you want me to br ing it to you?/I (d i rected to

THOMAS)

THOMAS: "Yea."

42. On October 18, 2011 CHSl corresponded v ia email with

THOMAS. In the email exchange it was decided t ha t THOMAS, ROBERTS

and CHSl wi l l meet l a t e r in the week to pool t he i r money together

to buy an explosive device from veE.

19




43. On October 21, 2011, CHS1 met with THOMAS and ROBERTS a t

a

res t au ran t in Lavonia, Georgia. Before the a r r i va l of THOMAS,

ROBERTS expressed some concern about buying the explosive device

from the VCE because ROBERTS i s concerned the VCE could be a "cop",

but ROBERTS advised he i s still going through with the deal and

t ha t he would be with THOMAS a t the t ransact ion . Afte r THOMAS

arr ived and a f t e r they ate , CHS1 gave THOMAS h is share of the cos t

for the device being purchased. ROBERTS advised tha t he would ge t

h is share to THOMAS th i s week. ROBERTS also s ta ted tha t the next

group meeting on October 29, 2011 wi l l be a t h is res idence , which

i s located a t 1171 Jordan Road, Toccoa, Georgia, 30577.

44 . When THOMAS has driven to the var ious meetings descr ibed

in t h i s a f f i dav i t , he has usual ly driven h is 2006 Red GMC Canyon

Pickup Truck, l i cense p la t e Georgia BMB 0821 which i s reg i s t e red to

THOMAS a t h is residence located a t 2265 Dean Mountain Road,

Cleveland, Georgia.

Rel iab i l i ty o f the Sources of Information

45. During the course of the inves t iga t ion of ROBERTS, THOMAS

and others a f f i l i a t e d with the Covert Group, the FBI as ut i l i zed to

confident ia l human sources. The c red ib i l i t y of CHS1 and CHS2 has

been demonstrated by the sources ' accura te recount ing of the

conversat ions recorded during meetings with ROBERTS I THOMAS I when

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compared to the audio and video recordings of the meetings and

physica l survei l lance of those meetings conducted by law

enforcement agents. Law enforcement agents ass i s t i ng with the

ins tan t inves t iga t ion have l i s tened to and/or viewed consensually

recorded telephone ca l l s and video recordings.

46. CHS1 i s current ly on bond fo r pending felony s ta te

charges . The FBI adminis tered a polygraph t e s t to CHS1 during the

inves t iga t ion of a mil i t i a group. The FBI polygrapher determined

t ha t CHS1 gave l ess than t ru thfu l responses concerning the

ac t iv i t i e s of the mil i t i a group.

COMPUTERS, ELECTRONIC STORAGE, AND FORENSIC ANALYSIS

47. As descr ibed above and in Attachment B, t h i s appl ica t ion

seeks permission to search fo r records tha t might be found on the

PREMISES, in whatever form they are found. One form in which the

records might be found i s data s tored on a computer 's hard drive or

other storage media. Thus, the warrant appl ied for would author ize

the se izure of elec t ronic s torage media or, potent ia l ly , the

copying of e lec t ronica l ly s tored informat ion, a l l under Rule

41 (e) (2) (B ) .48. I submit tha t i f a computer or storage medium i s found a t

the residences l i s t ed in paragraph 3, there i s probable cause to

bel ieve those records wil l be s tored on tha t computer or storage

medium, fo r a t l ea s t the fol lowing reasons:

21




a . Based on my knowledge, t r a in ing , and exper ience and

consul t a t ion with FBI forensic computer exper ts , I know

tha t computer f i l e s or remnants such f i l e s can be

recovered months or even years a f t e r they have been

downloaded onto a storage medium, dele ted , or viewed v ia

the In te rne t . Elect ronic f i l e s downloaded to a s torage

medium can be s tored fo r years a t little or no cost .

Even when f i l e s have been dele ted , they can be recovered

months or years l a t e r using forens ic too l s . This i s so

because when a person "dele tes ll a f i l e on a computer, the

data contained in the f i l e does not ac tua l ly disappear;

ra the r , t ha t data remains on the s torage medium un t i l it

i s overwri t ten by new data .

b . Therefore , eted f i l e s , or remnants of dele ted f i l e s ,

may res ide in f ree space o r s lack space- that i s , in space

on the s torage medium tha t i s not cur ren t ly being used by

an act ive f i l e - fo r long per iods of t ime before they are

overwr i t ten . In addi t ion , a computer ' s operat ing system

may also keep a record of dele ted data in a "swapll or

"recoveryll f i l e .

c . Wholly apar t from user-generated f i l e s , computer storage

media- in par t i cu lar , computers ' in te rna l hard dr ive s

contain e lec t ronic evidence of how a computer has been

22




used, what it has been used for , and who has used it. To

give a few examples, th i s forens ic evidence can take the

form of operat ing system conf igurat ions , a r t i f a c t s from

opera t ing system or appl ica t ion opera t ion , f i l e system

data s t ruc tures , and v i r t ua l memory "swap" or paging

f i l e s . computer users typ ica l ly do not erase or dele te

th i s evidence, because specia l sof tware i s typ ica l ly

required for tha t t ask . However, it i s t echn ica l ly

poss ib le to dele te t h i s informat ion.

d. Similar ly , f i l e s tha t have been viewed v ia the In te rne t

are sometimes automat ica l ly downloaded in to a temporary

In te rne t d i rec to ry or "cache."

49. Forensic evidence. As fu r the r described in Attachment B,

t h i s appl ica t ion seeks permission to locate not only computer f i l e s

t ha t might serve as d i rec t evidence of the crimes described on the

warrant , but also fo r forensic e lec t ron ic evidence tha t es tab l i shes

how computers were used, the purpose of t h e i r use, who used them,

and when. There i s probable cause to bel ieve t ha t t h i s forens ic

elec t ronic evidence wil l be on any computer in the PREMISES

because:

a . Data on the storage medium can provide evidence of a f i l e

tha t was once on the storage medium but has s ince been

de le ted o r ed i ted , o r of a dele ted por t ion of a f i l e

23




(such as a paragraph tha t has been dele ted from a word

processing f i l e ) . Vir tual memory paging systems can leave

t races of informat ion on the s torage medium tha t show

what t asks and processes were recent ly act ive . Web

browsers, e-mai l programs, and chat programs s tore

conf igurat ion informat ion on the storage medium tha t can

reveal informat ion such as online nicknames and

passwords. Operat ing systems can record addi t ional

informat ion, such as the at tachment of periphera ls , the

at tachment of USB f lash storage devices or o ther ex ternal

storage media, and the t imes the computer was in use.

Computer f i l e systems can record informat ion about the

dates f i l e s were created and the sequence in which they

were created .

b. Forensic evidence on a computer or s torage medium can

also indica te who has used or cont ro l led the computer or

s torage medium. This "user a t t r ibu t ion" evidence i s

analogous to the search fo r "indic of occupancy" while

execut ing a search warrant a t a res idence . For example,

reg i s t ry informat ion, configurat ion f i l e s , user pro f i l e s ,

e-mail , e-mail address books, "chat ," ins tan t messaging

1ogs , photographs, the presence o r absence of malware,

and correspondence (and the data associated with the

24




foregoing, such as f i crea t ion and l as t -accessed dates)

may be evidence of who used or cont led the computer o r

s torage medium a t a re levant t ime.

c . A person with appropr ia te famil ty with how a computer

works can, a f t e r examining t h i s forens ic evidence in i t s

proper context , draw conc lus ions about how computers were

used, the purpose of t h e i r use , who used them, and when.

d . Th e process iden t i fy ing the exact f i l e s , blocks ,

r e g i s t ry e n t r i e s , logs , or o ther forms of forens ic

evidence on a s torage medium t h a t are necessary to draw

an accura te conclusion i s a dynamic process . While it i s

poss ib le to speci fy advance the records to be sought ,

computer evidence i s not always data tha t can be merely

reviewed by a review team and passed a long to

inves t iga to rs . Whether data s tored on a computer i s

evidence may depend on o ther informat ion s tored on the

computer and the app l ica t ion of knowledge about how a

computer behaves. Therefore , contextua l informat ion

necessary to understand o ther evidence also f a l l s within

the scope of the warrant .

e . Further , in f inding evidence of how a computer was used,

the purpose o f i t s use , who used it, and when, sometimes

it i s necessary to es tab l i sh tha t a par t i cu l a r thing i s

25




not presen t on a s torage medium. For example, the

presence o r absence of counter - forens ic programs o r an t i

vi rus programs (and associa ted data) may be re levant to

es t ab l i sh ing the use r ' s in ten t .

50. Necessi ty of se iz ing or copying ent i re computers or

s torage media. In most cases, a thorough search of a premises fo r

informat ion t ha t might be s tored on s torage media often requires

the se izure of the physica l s torage media and l a t e r o f f - s i t e review

consis ten t with the warrant . In l i eu of removing s torage media

from the premises , it i s sometimes poss ib le to make an image copy

of s torage media. General ly speaking, imaging i s the taking of a

complete e lec t ron ic pic ture of the computer ' s datal including a l l

hidden sec to rs and dele ted f i l e s . Either se izure or imaging i s

often necessary to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data

recorded on the s torage media, and to prevent the loss of the data

e i the r from accidenta l or in ten t ional des t ruct ion . This i s t rue

because of the fol lowing:

a . The t ime required fo r an examination. As noted above, not

a l l evidence takes the form of documents and f i l e s tha t

can be eas i ly viewed on s i t e . Analyzing evidence of how

a computer has been used, what it has been used for , and

who has used it requires considerable t ime, and taking

tha t much time on premises could be unreasonable. As

26




explained above, because the warrant ca l l s for forensic

elec t ronic evidence, it i s exceedingly l ike ly tha t it

wil l be necessary to thoroughly examine s torage media to

obtain evidence. Storage media can s tore a l a rge volume

of informat ion. Reviewing tha t informat ion fo r things

descr ibed in the warrant can take weeks or months,

depending on the volume of data s tored , and would be

imprac t ica l and invasive to attempt on-s i t e .

b. Technical requirements. computers can be configured in

severa l di f fe ren t ways, fea tur ing a var ie ty of di f fe ren t

opera t ing systems, appl ica t ion software , and

conf igurat ions . Therefore , searching them sometimes

requi res tools o r knowledge tha t might not be presen t on

the search s i t e . The vast a rray of computer hardware and

software avai lab le makes it d i f f i c u l t to know before a

search what too l s or knowledge wil l be requi red to

analyze the system and i t s data on the Premises.

However, taking the storage media of f - s i t e and reviewing

it in a cont ro l led environment wil l al low i t s examination

with the proper too ls and knowledge.

c . Var ie ty of forms of elec t ronic media. Records sought

under t h i s warrant could be s tored in a var ie ty of

storage media formats tha t may requi re o f f - s i t e reviewing

27




with specia l ized forensic too l s .

51. Nature of examination. Based on the foregoing and

consis ten t with Rule 41(e) (2) (B) when persons executing the

warrant conclude tha t it would be impract ica l to review the media

on-s i t e l the warrant I am applying for would permit se iz ing or

imaging s torage media tha t reasonably appear to conta in some or a l l

of the evidence descr ibed in the warrant thus permit t ing i t s l a t e r

examination consis ten t with the warrant. The examination may

require techniques including but not l imi ted to computer-assis ted

scans of the ent i re mediuml

tha t might expose many par t s of a hard

d r i ve to human inspect ion in order to determine whether it i s

evidence descr ibed by the warrant.

CONCLUSION

52. Based on the aforementioned fac tual information l your

af f ian t re spec t fu l ly submits tha t tha t there i s probable cause to

bel ieve tha t there i s now concealed evidence as descr ibed in

de ta i l in Attachment BI of evidence of the commission of criminal

offenses namelYI vio la t ion of Ti t le 26, United Sta tes Code I

Sect ions 5861(d) I 5871 1 a l l in violat ion of Ti t le 181

United Sta tes

Code Sect ion 3711

Conspiracy to murder federa l of f ic ia l s in

vio la t ion of Ti t l e 18 1 United Sta tes Code Sect ion 1117 and Theft

of Government Proper ty and Ti t l e 18 1 United Sta tes Code Sect ion

641 is located in the residences more ful ly described in paragraph

28




3, and t h i s evidence , l i s t ed in Attachment B to t h i s a f f i dav i t ,

which i s incorporated herein by re fe rence , i s contraband, the

f ru i t s of crime, or things otherwise cr iminal ly possessed, or

proper ty which i s or has been used as the means of committing the

foregoing offenses .

53. Based on the aforementioned f ac tua l informat ion, your

a f f i an t re spec t fu l ly submits tha t there i s probable cause to

bel ieve t ha t THOMAS and ROBERTS conspired to possess an

unregis tered s i lence r and dest ruct ive device in v io la t ion of Ti t l e

26, United State Code, Sect ions 5861(d), 5871, a l l in vio la t ion of

t I e 18, United State Code, Sect ion 371.

54. Final ly , because of the ongoing nature of the

i nves t iga t ion , and to ensure th e safe ty of the confident ia l source

and law enforcement off i cers involved, I reques t tha t the search

warrants , appl ica t ions , complaints , a r r e s t warrants and af f idavi t s

in support thereof , be SEALED un t i l fu r the r order of t h i s Court.

29


Documents

US v. Frederick W. Thomas: FBI Affadavit