A former Navy SEAL was just convicted of plotting a terror attack that would have targeted law enforcement at a "No Kings" rally in California. Gregory Vandenberg, 49, was busted when a store clerk tipped off law enforcement after Vandenberg told him he was going to throw the mortar-style fireworks he'd just purchased at law enforcement.
Store clerk's tip busts former Navy SEAL plotting to bomb cops at No Kings protest https://t.co/BMCPLsX93M pic.twitter.com/TLyVh1hrq4
— New York Post (@nypost) July 28, 2026
Here's more:
Prosecutors said Vandenberg was driving from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego ahead of the June 14, 2025, demonstrations when he stopped at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, and purchased six mortar-style fireworks and 72 M-150 firecrackers.
While making the purchase, Vandenberg told a store clerk he intended to throw the explosives at law enforcement officers during the protests, federal authorities said.
He repeatedly asked about the amount of gunpowder in the fireworks, whether taping multiple mortars together would increase their explosive force and said he was interested only in their ability to injure officers, prosecutors said.
Vandenberg also encouraged the clerk to attend the protests and hand out fireworks to others, telling the employee he would not get hurt because of his military experience, according to trial testimony.
The conversation alarmed employees enough that they wrote down Vandenberg’s license plate and contacted law enforcement before he reached California.
Vandenberg was found guilty after a five-day federal trial. He was convicted of transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California. The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning the guilty verdict.
Ex Navy Seal convicted of attempting to attack at a No Kings protest. Look at some of these details.
— TrashDiscourse (@TrashDiscourse) July 28, 2026
Head on a swivel folks, we are also worrying about our own, not just invaders pic.twitter.com/cP5q5gUJRT
Vandenberg was tracked to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he lied to authorities and said he was traveling for work, despite being unemployed. A search of his vehicle found the explosives along with clothing displaying antisemitic, anti-Israel, and extremist imagery, including shirts bearing the Al-Qaeda flag, an Al-Qaeda hat, and clothing items with a variation of the Black Sun, a symbol associated with neo-Nazi ideology. Jurors were also shown a photo of Vandenberg wearing a shirt that said "AMALEK," which means "destroyer of Jews."
Authorities said Vandenberg's phone had a Taliban flag as the home screen image, and that the device contained anti-Israel, anti-U.S., and antisemitic material. Prosecutors said Vandenberg believed President Trump and the U.S. government were being controlled by Israel and the Jewish people. This is another example of leftist violence that our media chooses to ignore.
Despite this, Vandenberg was sentenced to just 16 months in federal prison and one year of supervised release.