Feds: WVa man sold devices to anti-government supporters

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

JOHN RABY,
Associated Press
March 16, 2021
Updated: March 16, 2021 5:39 p.m.



This 2020 photo provided by the West Virginia
Regional Jail Authority shows Timothy John
Watson of Ranson, W. Va., who pleaded guilty
Tuesday, March 16, 2021, to a weapons
charge related to an investigation in which he
was accused of selling machine gun
conversion devices online to followers of a
far-right extremist movement. (West Virginia
Regional Jail Authority via AP)AP

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia man has pleaded guilty to a weapons charge after he was accused of selling machine gun conversion devices online to followers of a far-right extremist movement.

Timothy John Watson entered the plea Tuesday to possession of an unregistered firearm silencer in federal court in Martinsburg. Several other charges were dropped under a plea agreement.

Watson, 30, of Ranson, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. No sentencing date was immediately announced. Prosecutors said they will seek a stiffer sentence due to the seriousness of Watson's alleged conduct.

Watson was charged after he was arrested in early September for allegedly running a website claiming to sell wall hangers. Prosecutors said they plan to show at sentencing that the devices could be actually used to turn semi-automatic AR-15 rifles into fully automatic machine guns.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/article/Feds-WVa-man-sold-devices-to-anti-government-16030824.php

[babylonsister]

1. I hope the feds can get a list of who he sold to.

And ugh. Lots of dangerous people out there.

[SergeStorms]

2. Why do all these Reich-wing zealots...

look like they're on the fourth day of a five day crystal meth extravaganza? Their eyes all look like two pee holes in the snow. Empty, devoid of any intelligence or spark of humanity. Spooky looking dudes, without conscience.

[Ford_Prefect]

3. In an attempt to be fair I ask how you'd look when they took your booking picture?

Suppose you'd been on the street in Portland or DC and arrested for civil protest. You'd be unlikely to smile at the camera or fix your hair. A similar function occurs when Black suspects are booked. I have heard the same said of them in similar circumstances.

I live near some of the same crew you're talking about and some of them indeed look quite scary. However some also look quite ordinary, or even happy. IMO It is a mistake to classify them as the "uglies" however shocking some of them may appear. There are plenty of them, and their families, you'd never spot at the grocery store or the gas station. I am not trying to normalize them. They can be indeed threatening when you talk to them. You cannot spot them by their tattoos or beards alone because not all of them show in public and not all of them wear tactical camo everywhere they go. Some even seem to understand the use of a razor and comb.

If you saw one who'd had a lawyer work on him before presenting to the judge you might not even have a clue. A suit, a haircut, a shave or trim can make quite a different impression. A few of them appear to be members of Congress and the Senate, or other elected positions like the AG, Governor, or Judge.

[Yeehah]

4. Will not be allowed to own guns with felony conviction

along with all his trump cult pals.

[greenjar_01]

5. He looks scared

Ten years in the federal penitentiary without your firearm is a tough stretch, I guess.

[Corgigal]

7. His eyes

look like it’s not connected to his brain. Spooky.