Tampa jury finds ex-Special Forces soldier with Jan. 6 ties guilty on 6 charges

TAMPA — Jeremy Brown, a former U.S. Army Special Forces grasp sergeant linked to the Jan. 6 revolt, was discovered guilty Monday on six of 10 federal criminal charges associated to weapons and categorized information that authorities present in his Tampa house.

After a weeklong trial, a jury of six males and 6 girls deliberated about 5 hours Monday afternoon earlier than deciding that Brown was guilty of illegally possessing two weapons, a pair of hand grenades and a single categorized doc associated to the seek for a previously lacking soldier in Afghanistan.

But the panel additionally discovered Brown not guilty of possessing 4 different paperwork associated to nationwide protection, which federal brokers discovered on a CD inside his girlfriend’s leisure car.

Brown, 48, remained stone-faced, his arms at his sides as he stood at a protection desk whereas the decision was learn.

Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew set a March 13 sentencing date.

Federal brokers discovered the unlawful gadgets final yr throughout a search of Brown’s property amid a probe into his connection to the occasions of Jan. 6, 2021, on the U.S. Capitol.

He’s accused in a separate case in Washington, D.C., of being among the many rioters who disrupted certification of the 2020 election outcomes, although Brown isn’t accused of truly getting into the Capitol constructing.

Brown didn’t deny that the sawed-off shotgun and the short-barreled rifle that brokers discovered at his house have been his. The weapons weren’t registered in a federal database, as required by regulation.

But his legal professional, Roger Futerman, argued to the jury that many of the different gadgets — together with the grenades and a CD with a crimson label marked “secret” which contained paperwork detailing army actions in Afghanistan — have been planted by federal brokers.

The protection lawyer pointed to forensic proof that confirmed DNA on the hand grenades got here from somebody apart from Brown. He additionally highlighted various peculiarities in the way in which brokers performed and documented the search. Most notably: they turned off Brown’s house safety cameras upon getting into.

“The evidence was manipulated and planted,” Futerman stated. “I can’t tell you when it was planted or who planted it. But the forensics don’t lie.”

Futerman additionally asserted that for Brown to be guilty of possessing categorized materials associated to nationwide protection, there must be proof that he had a “bad purpose” for the fabric.

Federal prosecutors scoffed on the declare that proof was planted. They stated Brown knew he wasn’t imagined to have the gadgets.

Looking for real-time news alerts?

Subscribe to our free Breaking News e-newsletter

You’ll obtain updates on main points and occasions in Tampa Bay and past as they occur.

You’re all signed up!

Want extra of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get began.

Explore all of your choices

“He knew the rules,” prosecuting legal professional Menno Goedman stated in closing arguments. “But he broke them anyway.”

There have been different revelations all through the trial that appeared to dampen Brown’s claims.

During the testimony of his girlfriend, Tylene Aldridge, the jury discovered that she’d regarded up the house tackle of one of many federal brokers concerned in Brown’s arrest. They have been additionally informed of a recorded jail telephone name between the couple. In the decision, prosecutors stated, Brown may very well be heard boasting about his forthcoming trial testimony.

“I could lie my ass off and they’d love the s— out of me,” he was quoted saying. (Brown testified that the assertion was taken out of context.)

The jury additionally heard about one other jail telephone name between the couple, this one from shortly after Brown’s arrest. In the transient recording, Aldridge informed him a few of the issues brokers took from their house.

She talked about the grenades. Brown stated nothing.

She then talked about that brokers turned off the couple’s safety cameras.

“They unplugged them?” Brown asks.

Prosecutors stated his lack of response when informed of the grenades confirmed that he knew they have been there.

“That silence is a confession,” stated Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Marcet.

Brown has remained defiant within the face of charges that would carry him a hefty jail sentence. From jail, he ran an unsuccessful marketing campaign for the Florida House of Representatives.

Court information and Brown’s personal public statements have linked him to the Oath Keepers extremist group. Five Oath Keepers have been convicted of assorted crimes final month after a prolonged trial in Washington. They included the group’s nationwide chief, Stewart Rhodes, and the chief of the Florida Oath Keepers, Kelly Meggs — each of whom have been discovered guilty of seditious conspiracy, essentially the most critical prison convictions to end result so removed from the occasions of Jan. 6.

But Brown’s connection to Jan. 6 wasn’t talked about within the Tampa trial.

Much of the main focus was on his 20-year Army profession. He held a secret safety clearance for the majority of that point. His legal professional highlighted the constructive evaluations he acquired every year from his superiors, who famous Brown as having a fame for honesty and loyalty.

Prosecutors centered on the circumstances that preceded Brown’s retirement from the service in 2012. That yr, he was reprimanded after army officers discovered a number of unauthorized recordsdata, together with some pornographic photos, on his military-issued pc. Brown left the service quickly after. On the witness stand, he informed the jury he’d already deliberate to retire.

Shortly earlier than that, Brown had authored a doc, labeled “secret,” which detailed search efforts for lacking soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Prosecutors steered he took the doc with him for nefarious functions. Brown claimed he didn’t imagine the information in it was categorized. It was one of many gadgets brokers discovered once they searched his house, and the one one he was discovered guilty of possessing illegally.

“We’re not disputing that at one point this defendant did serve his country honorably,” Marcet stated. “But this case shows just how far he fell.”