Joseph Paul Berger and his father, Joseph Raymond Berger, arrested last week and charged with multiple firearms offenses. Federal prosecutors have charged an “alt-right” podcaster who espoused strong anti-government views with assembling an arsenal of weapons, including machine guns, in the locked basement at a home in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. They also charged his father, the Daily Beast reported. The pair, Joseph Raymond Berger, 67, and Joseph Paul Berger, 32, were arrested last week and charged with multiple firearms offenses including possessing machine guns, possessing non-registered firearms and possessing non-registered silencers.
Both men have pleaded not guilty. According to a detention memo filed by prosecutors, the cache included eight AK-style rifles, two C308 .308 Winchester caliber rifles, two MP5K submachine guns, and one RPK-style machine gun. Prosecutors claimed in opposition to a bail request that the younger man, a navy veteran, “regularly espouses anti-government and anti-law enforcement views”. “To be sure, the defendant’s views do not form the basis for these charges, but they provide strong evidence of his anti-government ethos,” they argued. “Based on these views, it is highly unlikely that the defendant will respect or abide by conditions of release set by this court, thereby making him a danger to the community and a risk of flight.”
via guardian: US far-right podcaster charged after machine guns found in basement
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