An Army soldier plotting a Satanic-inspired terror attack sounds like the plot of a dime store novel, but that's exactly what Pvt. Ethan Melzer, who was assigned to 1st Battalion, 503rd Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in Vicenza, Italy, did in 2020.
“As the indictment lays out, Ethan Melzer plotted a deadly ambush on his fellow soldiers in the service of a diabolical cocktail of ideologies laced with hate and violence,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers explained at the time.
Melzer was charged with using an encrypted messenger app to communicate with extremists and plot to send his fellow soldiers into an ambush while they would be deployed abroad. Melzer plead guilty to the charges last year and was sentenced this week.
The Department of Justice comments on the sentencing explains that as a member of the accelerationist organization known as the Order of the 9 Angles (O9A) that Melzer deliberately infiltrated the US military in order to facilitate the deaths of American soldiers.
After receiving briefings on an upcoming deployment to Turkey, "Melzer immediately began passing that information to members of O9A. Melzer secretly used an encrypted messaging application to propose, advocate for, and plan a deadly attack on his fellow service members," DOJ states in a press release.
"Melzer sent messages to members and associates of O9A and, in particular, a sub-group of O9A known as the 'RapeWaffen Division,' providing details about his unit’s anticipated deployment including troop movements, relevant dates, locations, armaments, topography, and security, all in connection with the proposed attack on his unit and the Military Base," the DOJ statement elaborated.
A judge sentenced Melzer to 45 years in prison for attempting to murder American soldiers, leaking classified national security information, and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
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Reach Jack Murphy: jack@connectingvets.com or @JackMurphyRGR.
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