Militia Member and Body Armor Supplier Accused of Making Pipe Bombs

Michael Vincent Ramos, 24, of Tampa, Fla., was arrested Monday by federal agents who reported finding eight homemade pipe bombs, an AK-47 assault rifle and a .45 caliber handgun in the Ramos’ apartment.

Ramos is the founder and president of Patriot Armor, a Tampa-based company that uses the antigovernment “III%” movement logo to sell body armor it manufacturers to police and the public. The III% movement is comprised of antigovernment extremists who believe only three percent of the population was required to fight to win the Revolutionary War.

Facebook postings suggest the United States Patriot Army is affiliated with another III% militia group known as the National Constitutional Soldiers. That group has postings supporting the on-going, illegal occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon by supporters of Cliven Bundy and his sons. 

Ramos’ role or involvement with the Patriot Army militia isn’t spelled out in court documents. However, those documents say it was another member of the body armor company who saw the pipe bombs in Ramos’ apartment and called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives after he refused to get rid of the explosives.

When the friend asked Ramos why he had the pipe bombs, he replied, “If shit hits the fan, you never know if you might need it,” a federal criminal complaint says.

Questioned during his arrest by ATF agents, Ramos said he bought PVC pipe for his bombs at a home supply store and purchased the explosive chemicals, fuses and tear gas from on-line companies.

“Ramos told me he was unhappy with the government and was part of a militia in St. Petersburg, Florida, called the United States Patriot Army,” ATF special agent Justin Mace said in the sworn criminal complaint.

Ramos also confessed to the federal agent that he had purchased a pump action Mossberg shotgun and illegally shortened the barrel before selling it. He was not charged with that crime.