KEY POINTS

  • Two former marines, Liam Collins and Jordan Duncan, have been arrested along with a third man, Paul Kryscuk, for the illegal creation, transportation, and sale of unregistered firearms
  • The Justice Department began investigating Collins after a Newsweek article outed him as a white supremacist
  • Collins and Kryscuk face a maximum sentence of 20 years, while Duncan faces lesser charges totalling up to five years

Federal prosecutors in North Carolina charged three men from Boise, Idaho — two Marines and a 35-year-old man — "of conspiracy to unlawfully manufacture, possess, and distribute various weapons, ammunition, and suppressors." The three men reportedly had plans to ship the weapons to North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

The Justice Department announced on Oct. 20 that Marines Liam Collins, 21, and Jordan Duncan, 25, were arrested along with Paul Kryscuk. Collins and Duncan had previously been assigned to Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina.

The investigation began after Collins was accused of participating in white supremacist organizations.

Civil rights activist Alicia Garza, who co-founded Black Lives Matter, said the FBI recently told her that her name was on a list in an investigation connected to the arrest of an Idaho man affiliated with white supremacist groups.

US marines take position around the US embassy in Baghdad after pro-Iran protesters breached the outer wall of the compound
US marines take position around the US embassy in Baghdad after pro-Iran protesters breached the outer wall of the compound US EMBASSY IN IRAQ / -

The indictment states that Collins made multiple money transfers starting in 2019 to Kryscuk. In exchange, Kryscuk manufactured a rifle, a 9mm pistol, and a pistol silencer to be shipped to Collins under an alias.

Duncan’s role in the alleged crime was less clear, with the Justice Department simply saying he was aware of it and participated in it.

While crafting guns can be legal, they must be registered if they will be sold or shipped. Collins was an active member of the Marines at the time. He has since been discharged.

“Collins’ premature discharge is indicative of the fact that the character of his service was incongruent with Marine Corps' expectations and standards,” Marine Spokesperson Joseph Butterfield said in a statement. “Due to the associated administrative processes, further details are not releasable.”

The investigation into Collins began when he was implicated in a Newsweek article in November 2019 on the neo-Nazi website Iron March. The Justice Department confirmed that was their first indication that Collins might require attention.

White supremacists often display the Confederate flag during demonstrations as they did at a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 -- it is now effectively banned at US military installations
White supremacists often display the Confederate flag during demonstrations as they did at a neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 -- it is now effectively banned at US military installations AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

Collins and Kryscuk are both charged with conspiracy to manufacture guns and ship them between states, transporting guns between states without a license, and transporting a gun between states that is not registered as required.

They face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Duncan faces the lesser charge of conspiracy to manufacture guns and ship them between states. His maximum sentence is five years.

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