Snohomish man, who trained extremists, sentenced for illegal gun possession

EVERETT — A U.S. District Court judge sentenced a Snohomish resident Wednesday to two years in prison on weapons charges related to extremist activity.

U.S. District Judge Tana Lin sentenced him to two years in jail and three years probation during a sentencing hearing in Seattle.

Law enforcement arrested Kyle Christopher Benton, 29, in September 2024 after seizing a firearm that resembled an M16 rifle that fired in a fully automatic fashion. They also seized an uninstalled drop-in auto sear — a modification that makes a gun fire like a machine gun. Benton possessed both unregistered, short barrel rifles and machine guns, weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with a single trigger pull, the press release said.

Prosecutors said Benton used these weapons to further his standing with various racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist groups and groups espousing white supremacy.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/snohomish-man-who-trained-extremists-sentenced-for-illegal-gun-possession/