Jury convicts ex-Navy SEAL on fireworks charges

LAS CRUCES — After deliberating for over three hours, a jury convicted Gregory Vandenberg on Friday night of transporting fireworks in interstate commerce with plans to kill, injure or intimidate people at a No Kings rally in Los Angeles last summer.

The 49-year-old former Navy SEAL was also convicted of attempting to transport fireworks into California restricted under that state’s health and safety code.

At sentencing, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the first count in addition to potential fines or prison time on the second. 

“People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully. What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others,” Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison told the Journal in a written statement. “Vandenberg intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation, and this verdict sends the message that attempts to substitute violence for expressing one’s opinion has no place in our communities and will be met with federal consequences.”

The verdict concluded a five-day trial in which attorneys contended over First Amendment rights to free expression, the nature of humor, Vandenberg’s freewheeling lifestyle and even the influence of regular cannabis use on witness’ testimony. Vandenberg, who attended court sessions in a business suit with leg restraints, did not testify.

The trial followed from a highly publicized arrest last summer as political demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump’s administration were staged nationwide. U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel both issued statements about Vandenberg’s case, with Bondi stating, “This man allegedly intended to use the chaotic riots in Los Angeles as an opportunity to commit deadly violence against law enforcement officers.”

Initial reports identified the defendant as Gzegorz Vandenberg, using his birth name. Vandenberg is a Polish-born, naturalized U.S. citizen who served as a police officer in New York City before joining the Navy in 2004, went on to serve in SEAL Team 7 and was honorably discharged in 2014 with 100% disability status stemming from PTSD and combat-related injuries.

The criminal charges stemmed from an afternoon visit to Bowlin's Continental Divide Trading Post on Interstate 10 outside Lordsburg. Vandenberg’s attorneys stated in court that he regularly visits Phoenix for medical appointments and travels the country visiting fellow veterans and friends.

On June 12, Vandenberg was headed west toward Arizona when he stopped and spent $55 on fireworks. An employee and a store manager testified that Vandenberg divulged plans to attend a highly publicized No Kings political demonstration in Los Angeles on June 15. Under oath, they said Vandenberg revealed plans to throw firecrackers and mortar rounds at police officers.

Despite some hesitation, the manager sold him the fireworks — six Black Cat mortar rounds and 72 M-150 Salutes — but minutes later the two employees called 911.

Defense attorneys Dean Clark and Cori Harbour portrayed Vandenberg as a garrulous man with a “salty mouth” and a penchant for needling people with dark humor. Federal prosecutors said Vandenberg’s collection of T-shirts bearing antisemitic messages and emblems associated with militant groups such as al-Qaeda, as well as memes found on Vandenberg’s phone lampooning President Donald Trump and Israel, showed — as prosecutor Joni Stahl put it — that he “holds a hatred in his heart” persuading him to “create chaos” in Los Angeles.

The case rested heavily on security camera footage from the store that had no audio. The overhead cameras show Vandenberg interacting with clerk Joseph Ramirez in the fireworks section of the store. While both can be seen laughing at times, Ramirez testified that Vandenberg asked which fireworks could be used to harm people, talked about the impending No Kings rally and his intent to hurt police officers, even suggesting Ramirez accompany him.

The defense highlighted ambiguities in the evidence and inconsistencies between witnesses’ testimony and investigative records, with Clark arguing during closing that store employees, in their excitement, exaggerated or imagined details about Vandenberg, including a suggestion he might have more explosives in his vehicle.

Clark suggested the employees’ story snowballed, leading to a dangerous arrest in Tucson, Arizona, in the early hours of June 13, during which police used a flash-bang device and shot out the rear window of Vandenberg’s vehicle before apprehending him. No explosives other than the fireworks were present. Vandenberg has been in custody ever since.

Clark quizzed the employees about their use of cannabis, which is legal in the state of New Mexico, yet federally prohibited. Although the employees testified they used cannabis in low doses and only after work, Clark suggested regular use over time could lead to heightened anxiety and paranoia, in order to raise doubts about their testimony.

The defense ridiculed the suggestion that Vandenberg, who served multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan and was trained in the use of explosives and firearms, would resort to commercial fireworks or ask a store clerk for advice on how to injure people; and argued that the FBI could have done more to determine whether audio files from the security cameras could be retrieved. FBI agent Lily Aldana testified that the agency, with an IT specialist at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, tried but no audio could be found.

Prosecutors presented conflicting statements Vandenberg made to various parties about where he was headed that week, including evidence he had lied to FBI agents about plans to visit friends for a birthday celebration and that he later asked a military buddy — in a phone call placed from jail — for a family photograph to support his alibi.

Although possession of materials implying hatred for Jewish people or the state of Israel is protected speech, Stahl argued, “It’s not a crime unless you act on the hatred.” Vandenberg attempted to do exactly that, she argued.

The defense did not indicate right away whether Vandenberg would appeal the verdict.

"We are obviously disappointed in the outcome, but we respect the jury's verdict," Harbour told the Journal. "We maintain our belief that this case was built on unreliable testimony and we are actively evaluating all post-trial and appellate options. Our fight for Gregory Vandenberg is far from over."