White Supremacist Faces Additional Charges for Domestic Terrorism Plot
A man who was planning “the worst kind” of domestic terrorism act faces six new federal felony charges less than a month after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the state of Washington.
Wayde Lynn Kurt, once a member of an Odinist, white supremacist gang called “Vangard Kindred,’’ was in jail awaiting sentencing when a grand jury in Spokane returned the new indictment against him last week. Its six counts allege aggravated identity theft; two counts of unlawful production of an identification card, two counts of unlawful possession of an identification card and making a false statement.
Kurt, 53, was allegedly making false IDs as part of a plan to carry out an act of domestic terrorism according to federal court documents that don’t provide specific details. However, in secret tape recordings made by an FBI informant in 2010, Kurt allegedly intended to do something “to make sure everyone is fed up with (President) Obama.”
Kurt said he was putting finances together and obtaining false identifications and firearms as he planned his intended act of terrorism, the documents say.
On the tapes obtained by the FBI, Kurt said, “he didn’t want innocent people to die but it was possible they would die. [Kurt] stated it would be an act of terrorism of the worst kind and would mean a death sentence if he was caught.”
“He likened his plan to what happened to the Alfred Murrah Building in Oklahoma City,” the documents say, referring to the 1995 bombing by Timothy McVeigh that killed 168 people and injured dozens more.
In preparation, Kurt had obtained a firearm despite his prior felony conviction for counterfeiting, the court documents say. Additionally, they say he had illegally entered Canada and returned with “contraband,” which isn’t further described.
Kurt also owned an ultra-light aircraft with a 28-gallon tank and had obtained 10 Post Office boxes with false names, along with credit cards and a Washington state driver’s license under aliases, the documents say. He has been in custody since he was arrested by FBI agents on Aug. 12, 2010.
Kurt faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 12 on the firearms conviction, but that could be postponed until the new charges are resolved. They could add another 15 years to his potential prison term.
Kurt came to the attention of the Inland Northwest Joint Terrorism Task Force as its agents began an investigation in 2008 of Vangard Kindred and Valhalla-Bound Skinheads, Odinist-based white supremacy gangs founded by Keegan VanTuyl, son of former Central American missionaries. He reportedly became a white supremacist while serving time in federal prison for a firearms conviction.
VanTuyl and his groups were involved in several racist acts, including violence, in 2008 and 2009 in the Spokane area and North Idaho, Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl Hicks said at his sentencing.
VanTuyl, 29, was released on Nov. 12 from federal prison where he served time for a federal probation violation related to a firearms possession charge.
