MINNEAPOLIS — A man from Savage, Minnesota was sentenced Wednesday for compiling an arsenal of illegal weapons.
Federal investigators said River Smith was caught while trying to buy illegal gun parts from an undercover FBI agent; during the arrest, police found even more.
Smith pleaded guilty last year to one count of possession of a machine gun.
In describing his client, Smith's attorney Jordan Kushner said Smith has "unconventional ideas and ideologies" but that he's not a mass shooter or terrorist.
But Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Winter that's exactly what Smith would have become if he were not arrested.
Smith sent a photo of guns and ammo strewn around his living room to a friend over a messaging app along with the note: "This isn't even half of my Muslim-killing arsenal."
Smith applauded mass shootings and wrote, "I can't stand Muslims or Blacks or Jews."
In March 2022, Smith described the Mall of America as a "shooting range," and in a long message presented by Winter at Smith's sentencing hearing, Smith fantasized about going to the mall and killing everyone inside.
The FBI was onto Smith after an arrest when he was a teen where they seized all his guns.
Smith held a grudge against police, the prosecution said, and Smith told an informant he wanted to buy auto-sears -- devices that turn regular guns into machine guns.
An undercover FBI agent sold the parts to Smith. And when they arrested him he had a thousand rounds of ammo loaded along with tactical gear and several guns. Federal prosecutors said he also attempted to purchase hand grenades.
Even after pleading guilty, the FBI recorded a jail phone call in which Smith said, "Give me 7 years and I promise you you'll find out why I did go to that range so much and why I took that so seriously."
Judge David Doty sentenced Smith to 80 months in federal prison, just under 7 years, for the crimes he committed.
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