A former Navy reservist who stormed the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, expressing his admiration for Adolf Hitler was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday on gun charges.

The sentence imposed by U.S. District Judge Michael Nachmanoff for Hatchet Speed ​​in federal court in Alexandria was just five months short of the term requested by federal prosecutors and much longer than the one-year term requested by the attorneys. of Speed ​​was asked.

Speed, 41, of McLean, Va., is a military veteran who had top secret clearances while working for a defense contractor.

The charges against him in Virginia are separate from those filed in Washington, D.C., for obstructing official proceedings at the Jan. 6 joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote. He will be sentenced on those charges next month; sentencing guidelines in that case a term of

almost

five to six years.

Speed’s lawyers asked the judge not to be biased against him because of his inflammatory views. In conversations with an FBI undercover operative in 2022, Speed ​​expressed his admiration not only for Hitler but also for Centennial Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph and Unabomber Ted Kaczynski.

In a taped conversation, Speed ​​also made anti-Semitic remarks and suggested targeting Jewish people

deeds of

violence. He also collected neo-Nazi memorabilia.

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But Nachmanoff said Speed’s admiration for despicable historical figures and his views on advocating violence to achieve his objectives demonstrate the danger he poses to the public.

The defendant’s expressions of admiration for Adolf Hitler, Eric Rudolph and Ted Kaczynski … and his belief that such activities could be justified are all highly relevant, Nachmanoff said.

Prosecutors said Speed, a member of the far-right Proud Boys group, believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump. After President Biden took office, Speed ​​began preparing for what he believed was an imminent civil war and began stockpiling weapons, including the three silencers that were the subject of his trial in Virginia.

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In Thursday’s closing statements, prosecutor Thomas Traxler said Speed ​​studied Rudolph and Kaczynski’s manifestos to try to come up with a better game plan than they had.

Speed ​​had claimed he was innocent because the devices he bought were actually solvent traps used to collect excess fluid

you

beautiful

scary

a gun.

The devices are indeed marketed as solvent traps, but their design resembles that of a silencer. The only significant difference is that the

solvent fall

require

only

finally drilling a hole to turn them into working mufflers.

Speed ​​bought the devices, which are made of titanium and

sell at cost

hundreds of dollars, after trying to buy mufflers and experiencing significant delays.

Mufflers are legal to own in most states, but must be registered with the authorities.

Speed ​​said he didn’t believe he needed to register the devices with the government as silencers unless he drilled holes in them, something he never did.

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However, prosecutors said the mufflers law covers devices intended to be used as a muffler, whether functional or sold under another name.

Speed’s first trial in Virginia ended with a hung jury and a mistrial, as jurors apparently struggled with the legal definition of a silencer and whether Speed ​​was required to register them. He was convicted at a retrial after one of the first jurors contacted prosecutors and explained what caused the jury’s confusion.

Traxler said the legal loophole Speed ​​thought he discovered was half too cute and pushed for a harsh punishment to discourage others from doing the same.

Speed, who plans to appeal his conviction, did not speak at Thursday’s hearing.