A suspected neo-Nazi was sentenced to 30 months in prison on a weapons charge Tuesday after he and a reputed hate group leader were pulled over in Texas late last year.
Aiden Bruce-Umbaugh, 23, pleaded guilty to possession of firearms and ammunition by a prohibited person in January, the U.S. Attorney's Office or the Northern District of Texas said in a statement.
Bruce-Umbaugh was a passenger in a Ford Focus driven by Kaleb Cole, the alleged leader of the Washington cell of the Atomwaffen Division, when Cole was pulled over for speeding in Post, Texas, in November.
Authorities found three rifles and a pistol in the car as well as a small canister of marijuana and a vial of THC oil. Bruce-Umbaugh said he was the owner of the guns and drugs, according to federal prosecutors.
The guns in the car were described as an AR-15 rifle, two AK-47 rifles and a Sig Sauer 9 mm pistol.
Cole is the alleged leader of a Washington state cell of the Atomwaffen Division, a hate group. He was not charged in the traffic stop, but in Washington state, a judge had previously ordered his guns seized under the state's red-flag law.
An emailed request for comment from Bruce-Umbaugh's attorney was not immediately returned Wednesday night. The attorney has previously said that Bruce-Umbaugh has no criminal history.
It is illegal for someone who is the "unlawful user" of a controlled substance, like marijuana, to possess guns, the U.S. attorney's office said. After the stop, Bruce-Umbaugh allegedly told investigators he smoked marijuana every day.
Prosecutors argued that Bruce-Umbaugh is a member of the Atomwaffen Division and that in jailhouse phone calls, he referred to "the group" and declared he was a "Nazi."
Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, said in a statement in January after Bruce-Umbaugh pleaded guilty that "The Northern District of Texas is committed to keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals," and that a drug user never should have had the weapons.
