Army veteran sentenced for using illegal guns to support violent hate groups, conduct trainings

An Army veteran from Snohomish in possession of illegal high-powered firearms was sentenced to two years in prison, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

Kyle Christopher Benton, 29, was arrested in Sept. 2024 after an investigation into his activities both online and in person involving unregistered high-powered weapons.

Snohomish man sentenced for possession of illegal firearms

Benton was in possession of unregistered short-barrel rifles and machine guns, which are weapons capable of firing multiple rounds with a single trigger pull.

The DOJ noted that Benton had used these weapons to “further his standing” with multiple racially motivated and violent extremist groups, including groups that supported white supremacy.

“Benton used the firearms along with his military experience to establish himself within the groups. While engaged with these groups, he put on workshops about firearms and held tactical trainings for group members,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Wynne wrote to the court.

Benton was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after he was discharged from the U.S. Army and had threatened to kill his wife, according to records filed in the case.

Uncovered in the investigation, agents revealed that Benton operated multiple social media accounts and posted violent extremist content, including neo-Nazi propaganda and anti-Semitic materials.

“While Benton was in possession of these weapons, he was actively engaged with groups encouraging racially or ethnically motivated violence and white supremacy,” Wynne wrote.

A blurred photo of a neo-Nazi group. (Photo courtesy of the Department of Justice)

Benton also participated in “hate rallies” and other gatherings in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho that supported his white supremacist ideology. Leveraging his prior military training and status as a veteran, Benton also led workshops about firearms for various white supremacist groups.

“You not only illegally possessed extremely dangerous firearms, but you bragged about it and put on firearms trainings for others while doing so,” U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Benton’s residence in Snohomish on Sept. 6, 2024, and seized a firearm that resembled an M16 rifle that could fire in a fully automatic fashion. Agents also seized an uninstalled drop-in auto sear, also known as a “Glock switch,” which makes a semi-automatic weapon fully automatic.

Two rifles with barrel lengths of less than 16 inches were also seized by law enforcement, and all guns seized must be registered under the National Firearms Act.

Wynne asked that Benton serve a 30-month sentence in his letter to the court, and Benton disavowed his white supremacist views in a separate letter, according to the DOJ.

Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.