FBI: Minnesota man was making arsenal, revered mass shooters

SAVAGE, Minn. — A Minnesota man who idolized the shooter who killed five people at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs and was allegedly building an arsenal of automatic weapons to use against police was arrested this week after a retired police officer reported his behavior to authorities, according to federal charges. Smith, who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Savage, had told the informant that the shooter who killed five people at an LGBTQ nightclub last month was a “hero,” called Black people “agents of satan,” and said he was ready to engage the police “with armor and full autos,” according to an FBI affidavit. According to court documents, she told police in 2019 that Smith acted “possessed” that night, and she described him as “big and scary and strong.” She also said Smith’s mother, who was living in Wisconsin, had purchased the firearm in her name and given it to Smith. Smith came to the attention of the FBI this fall, after he frequented a firearm range and gun club wearing tactical gear, body armor and a “Punisher” mask, which the FBI said has been used by right-wing extremist groups to reference “the last thing a victim sees.” A retired police officer who worked at the gun range contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center on Sept. 27 after he saw Smith shooting from behind a plywood barricade he had assembled and practicing rapid reloads of his handgun, according to the affidavit. “Any sort of hate like that, we just don’t tolerate.” According to the FBI affidavit, Smith told an informant that he was “pro mass shooting in general,” and that he wanted to add the hand grenades to his tactical vest.