A Missouri man was found guilty by a federal jury of conspiring to kill Border Patrol agents and shoot at FBI agents

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (KY3) – A Missouri man was found guilty by a federal jury for his role in a conspiracy to kill U.S. Border Patrol agents and for shooting at FBI agents during an arrest.

according to U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of MissouriJonathan O’Dell, 34, of Warsaw, Missouri, was convicted Nov. 7 along with a man from Tennessee.

Investigators said the two men, both from the 2nd U.S. Militia, planned to travel to Texas to shoot at illegal immigrants crossing the United States-Mexico border. They also planned to kill U.S. Border Patrol officers and employees who would try to stop them.

O’Dell and Bryan Perry, of Tennessee, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to attack federal officers and employees and one count of conspiracy to injure federal officers and employees. They were convicted of seven counts of attempted murder of FBI special agents, seven counts of assaulting FBI special agents with a deadly weapon, three counts of assaulting FBI special agents, and 14 counts of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. and federal charges of destruction of property.

O’Dell was also found guilty of threatening to injure another person, the news release said. During the hearing, he also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm while subject to a court protective order, making false statements to a federal agent and escaping from custody.

HE Escaped from Phelps County Jail Before he was found and arrested in September 2023 in Ray County, Missouri, near Kansas City. Police said a witness who knew O’Dell reported him in possession of a stolen vehicle out of Phelps County. That vehicle was also seized during the arrest. The arresting agencies were the FBI, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Ray County Sheriff’s Office.

O’Dell and Perry formed the 2nd American Militia in 2022 and tried to persuade others to join. The duo even advertised a recruiting event in Warsaw before heading for the border.

In October 2022, FBI agents arrested O’Dell and Perry at O’Dell’s home; they were using it to prepare for the journey and were collecting firearms, paramilitary equipment, ammunition and other supplies.

Perry posted a video on TikTok from O’Dell’s home discussing illegal immigrants coming to the United States from Mexico.

According to investigators, Perry said the U.S. Border Patrol had committed treason by allowing these illegal immigrants to enter the United States, and that the penalty for treason was death. The next day, Perry posted another video on TikTok in which he stated that he was “ready to go to war against this government.”

On October 7, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant for O’Dell’s residence in the 34000 block of US 65 near Warsaw. Agents said they were surrounded by gunfire when they arrived at the home. Agents say they did not return fire. They arrested O’Dell, Perry and another person inside the home a short time later. Investigators say Perry admitted to opening fire.

Authorities say Agents responded by throwing flash grenades around the home. When law enforcement told Perry to leave the house, Perry took down the American flag from the front porch of the house and walked down the stairs waving the flag.

Perry started walking towards the agents and then turned to go home. Agents chased Perry, who began fighting and shaking his fists, attacking the agents several times and injuring at least one agent before being taken into custody.

Federal agents then searched the home and found six firearms, 23 magazines loaded with ammunition, 1,770 rounds of miscellaneous other ammunition, 11 spent casings, two sets of body armor with corresponding plate carrier vests, a handheld radio, two sniper rests, two gas masks . , two ballistic helmets, multiple containers of binary explosive mixture often sold as exploding targets, zip ties, and two 2nd American Militia patches.

Under federal law, O’Dell and Perry are each subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole and life imprisonment in federal prison without parole.

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