Feb. 11 (UPI) — A 24-year-old U.S. Army soldier who said he wanted to travel to Ukraine to fight with a far-right military group has pleaded guilty to distributing bomb-making instructions, according to prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas said in a statement that Jarrett William Smith, of Fort Riley, Kan., pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of distributing information related to explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction.
Smith, a specialist 1st class infantry soldier who joined the Army in June 2017, was arrested in September after months of investigation by the FBI.
According to court records, the FBI had been tracking Smith since March when he was stationed in Texas before being transferred to Kansas in July.
In August, a month before his arrest, Smith told an undercover FBI agent that he was looking for “radicals” like himself, about killing members of the anti-fascist left-wing group Antifa and about destroying nearby cell towers.
Authorities said he also instructed undercover FBI agents on how to make a vehicle bomb and described in detail how to detonate an explosive device through the use of a cell phone. He also provided the agents with a recipe for creating improvised napalm.
“The FBI received information that Smith gave out guidance to others on how to construct improvised explosive devices,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “He spoke to others on social media about wanting to travel to Ukraine to fight with a violent, far-right military group.”
According to the prosecution, Smith had discussed joining the Right Sector, the Ukrainian paramilitary group, with people online as early as 2016.
Smith is to be sentenced May 18 and could face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each charge.
