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He was kicked out of a border militia. Then the FBI found a gun 'factory' in his home.
Morning Mix
He was kicked out of a border militia. Then the FBI found a gun ‘factory’ in his home.
By Antonia Noori Farzan, Reporter for the Morning Mix
August 30 at 7:04 AM
Joshua Pratchard was enthusiastic about joining Arizona Border Recon, an armed civilian group that patrols the U.S.-Mexico border looking for unauthorized migrants and drug smugglers. ... A little too enthusiastic, some people inside the group thought.
Pratchard had driven more than seven hours from his San Diego home to a remote outpost in the southern Arizona desert in January 2018, carrying a silencer and an illegal short-barreled rifle. Though eager to take part in his first mission, he quickly turned irate when he was informed by the group’s leader, Tim Foley, that he wouldn’t be allowed to have a silencer on his weapon while on patrol. And when Foley explained that militia members couldn’t “go hands-on” with unauthorized migrants or physically restrain them, the recruit “became visibly angry,” government prosecutors would later write.
Pratchard’s first border reconnaissance mission with the group ended up being his last: Foley, who was concerned about the would-be vigilante’s behavior and likely also displeased that Pratchard kept arguing with him about how the militia should conduct its patrols, kicked him out of the group, according to court records. But it wasn’t the last time the San Diego resident would make the long drive out to the Arizona borderlands, and his troubles were only beginning.
Unbeknown to him, one of the other people present for his one and only outing with Arizona Border Recon was a government informant, who tipped off the FBI. That, in turn, led to an investigation into Pratchard, who on Tuesday was sentenced to more than six years in prison for running what prosecutors described as a “firearms and ammunition factory” out of his house, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Though his past felony convictions barred him from owning guns, Pratchard had simply started making his own, explaining in one recorded conversation, “They just get addicting, and you can’t stop.”
....
Antonia Noori Farzan is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. She previously worked at the Phoenix New Times. Follow https://twitter.com/antoniafarzan
He was kicked out of a border militia. Then the FBI found a gun ‘factory’ in his home.
By Antonia Noori Farzan, Reporter for the Morning Mix
August 30 at 7:04 AM
Joshua Pratchard was enthusiastic about joining Arizona Border Recon, an armed civilian group that patrols the U.S.-Mexico border looking for unauthorized migrants and drug smugglers. ... A little too enthusiastic, some people inside the group thought.
Pratchard had driven more than seven hours from his San Diego home to a remote outpost in the southern Arizona desert in January 2018, carrying a silencer and an illegal short-barreled rifle. Though eager to take part in his first mission, he quickly turned irate when he was informed by the group’s leader, Tim Foley, that he wouldn’t be allowed to have a silencer on his weapon while on patrol. And when Foley explained that militia members couldn’t “go hands-on” with unauthorized migrants or physically restrain them, the recruit “became visibly angry,” government prosecutors would later write.
Pratchard’s first border reconnaissance mission with the group ended up being his last: Foley, who was concerned about the would-be vigilante’s behavior and likely also displeased that Pratchard kept arguing with him about how the militia should conduct its patrols, kicked him out of the group, according to court records. But it wasn’t the last time the San Diego resident would make the long drive out to the Arizona borderlands, and his troubles were only beginning.
Unbeknown to him, one of the other people present for his one and only outing with Arizona Border Recon was a government informant, who tipped off the FBI. That, in turn, led to an investigation into Pratchard, who on Tuesday was sentenced to more than six years in prison for running what prosecutors described as a “firearms and ammunition factory” out of his house, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Though his past felony convictions barred him from owning guns, Pratchard had simply started making his own, explaining in one recorded conversation, “They just get addicting, and you can’t stop.”
....
Antonia Noori Farzan is a reporter on The Washington Post's Morning Mix team. She previously worked at the Phoenix New Times. Follow https://twitter.com/antoniafarzan
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