Blue Lives Matter supporters arrested with ‘AR15s, shotguns & knives’ on way to Kenosha to ‘shoot people’
TWO men on their way to Kenosha to see President Donald Trump were arrested on Tuesday on firearm charges after cops swarmed their hotel room following a tip off. Police were told that the Blue Lives Matter supporters from Missouri were heading to Kenosha armed with AR-15s and other heavy weaponry, court documents reveal. Michael […]
TWO men on their way to Kenosha to see President Donald Trump were arrested on Tuesday on firearm charges after cops swarmed their hotel room following a tip off.
Police were told that the Blue Lives Matter supporters from Missouri were heading to Kenosha armed with AR-15s and other heavy weaponry, court documents reveal.
Michael M. Karmo, 40, and Cody E. Smith, 33, were arrested at a La Quinta Inn outside of Kenosha.
The Justice Department announced Thursday they were initially charged with illegal possession of firearms.
The criminal complaint describes a large stockpile of weapons that were recovered from their room and their truck following the arrest, including an Armory AR-15 assault rifle, a Mossberg 500 AB 12-Gauge shotgun, two handguns, a “homemade silencer”, ammunition, body armor and a drone.
Cops in Iowa received a credible tip from an informant that Karmo and another man were traveling from Missouri to Kenosha with a stockpile of weapons.
They tipped off Kenosha PD who informed the FBI.
The FBI tracked the men down to their hotel and made the arrest.
Karmo allegedly told an informant he was “going to Kenosha with the intention of using firearms on people,” according to the complaint.
On Karmo’s Facebook page, which authorities used to track and ID the suspect, the man can be seen posing with a Blue Lives Matter flag and an array of heavy weapons, including one he describes as a “game changer”.
Neither of the men arrested could legally posses a firearm because of lengthy criminal rap sheets.
Karmo and Smith were allegedly members of 417 2nd Amendment Militia of Missouri.
A release from the FBI says the pair “wanted to see proof of the rioting” and were also intent on going to Portland, which has also been rocked by violence.
The complaint says Karmo “stated he would be willing to ‘take action’ if police were defunded”.
The men are facing a slew of weapons charges.
Riots broke out in Kenosha after Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back late last month.
The protests turned deadly when members of right-wing militias and Black Lives Matter protesters clashed.
Kyle Rittenhouse was charged with murder after shooting two protesters and wounding one after he traveled to Kenosha to participate in the demonstrations.
Joe Biden and Trump have both visited Kenosha in recent days after the unrest.