SAN ANTONIO – A federal judge sentenced 19-year-old Iron Youth member and Smiley resident Caleb Nathaniel Oliver today to 18 months imprisonment for unlawfully possessing a machine gun.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra ordered that Oliver be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.
“The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to dedicate resources to the pursuit of those individuals who violate federal law by illegally possessing firearms, such as the machine gun in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “I am proud of the collective efforts of our law enforcement partners who work so tirelessly to root out violent extremism and keep the public safe from harm.”
On March 18, 2021, Oliver pleaded guilty to the charge and admitted that he purchased a fully automatic machine gun from an undercover officer for $1,000 on February 5, 2021. Court documents reflect that Oliver is a member of the group called Iron Youth, a racially motivated violent extremist group that advocates violence in the furtherance of its objectives. Beginning in September 2020, Oliver had several meetings with undercover officers to discuss the purchase of the machine gun.
“Without the teamwork of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and our local and state law enforcement partners in arresting this subject, we may have had yet another event of mass violence,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, FBI San Antonio Division. “The FBI is committed to doing everything we can to protect our community from violent extremists, regardless of ideology or motivation.”
The FBI conducted this investigation with assistance from the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William R. Harris and Mark Roomberg prosecuted this case.
This case falls within the purview of the Attorney General’s Task Force to Combat Violent Anti-Government Extremism. Launched in June 2020, the Task Force is dedicated to supporting the investigation and prosecution of any person or group who commits violence in the name of an anti-government ideology.
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