Gregory Vandenberg, a former U.S. Navy SEAL who was found to be motivated by Jew-hatred, was sentenced to 16 months in jail for planning to throw bombs at law enforcement securing protests in California, the U.S. Justice Department said.
The 49-year-old won’t be eligible for parole, since it is the federal system, the department said. He will have a year of supervised release after the prison term, it added.
Vandenberg was going from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego, Calif., on June 12, 2025 to attend a “No Kings Day” protest planned for June 14. In New Mexico, he bought “six large mortar fireworks, which are designed to shoot high into the air and explode, and 72 M-150 firecrackers, which are designed to sound like gunfire,” per court documents. He told a staff member at the store that he “intended to throw fireworks at police officers at the upcoming protests,” the Justice Department said. “He asked detailed questions about the amount of gunpowder in the fireworks, their explosive impact and their ability to harm others. He also discussed taping multiple fireworks together to increase their explosive force.”
He told the clerk that he cared only about the ability of the fireworks to explore and harm police, not the color or display.
Staff at the store, who were worried, took down his license plate and called police, according to the Justice Department.
Federal agents arrested him, as he slept in his car, at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz.
In Vandenberg’s car, officers found the fireworks he bought and “clothing displaying antisemitic, anti-Israel and extremist imagery, including a shirt bearing the al-Qaeda flag and another calling for the destruction of Judea.”
“Agents also discovered that the home screen on Vandenberg’s phone displayed the Taliban flag. Investigators further determined that Vandenberg had worn a custom-made shirt bearing the word ‘Amalek’ during his visit to the travel center, which he stated meant ‘destroyer of Jews,’” the Justice Department said.
In the Torah, Amalek is a tribe that aims to wipe the Jewish people out. King Saul is punished for allowing the Amalekite king Agag to live, leading Samuel to confront Saul dramatically and tell him that God has rejected him.
“A review of Vandenberg’s phone revealed antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-U.S. and extremist content, including internet searches and messages expressing hostility toward Jews and Israel,” the Justice Department said. “According to court records, investigators found messages indicating that Vandenberg viewed the U.S. government as being controlled by Israel and Jewish people and that those beliefs motivated his desire to target law enforcement officers at the protests.”
“Prosecutors argued that his conduct was driven by extremist, antisemitic views and posed a grave threat to public safety,” it said.
