(NewsGlobal.com)- A former master sergeant in the US Army Special Forces who was linked to the January 6 riot at the Capitol was found guilty on six of ten counts by a Florida jury on Monday.
A Tampa jury found Jeremy Brown guilty of illegally possessing two guns, a pair of hand grenades, and a single classified document related to the search for a formerly missing soldier in Afghanistan that were found when authorities searched his Tampa home.
However, the jury acquitted Brown on the charges of possessing four other documents related to national defense, which federal agents found on a CD inside his girlfriend’s vehicle.
Federal agents found the items last year while searching Brown’s property in connection to his involvement in the January 6 riot.
Brown didn’t deny that the sawed-off shotgun and short-barreled rifle found in his home were his. Neither gun was registered in a federal database, as required by law.
In his closing arguments, Brown’s attorney Roger Futerman told the jury that most of the other items, including the grenades and the CD, were planted by federal agents.
Futerman pointed to forensic evidence that revealed DNA on the hand grenades belonged to someone other than Brown. He also highlighted peculiarities in the way FBI agents conducted and documented the search, including turning off Brown’s home security cameras upon entering.
Futerman also argued that for Brown to be guilty of possessing classified documents related to national defense, the prosecution would have to prove he had a “bad purpose” for possessing the material.
Federal prosecutor Menno Goedman scoffed at the accusation that any evidence was planted, telling the jury that Brown “knew the rules, but he broke them anyway.”
The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about five hours before returning its verdict.
Senior US District Judge Susan Bucklew scheduled Brown’s sentencing for March 13.
Brown faces a separate case in Washington, DC for his involvement in January 6. However, he is not accused of actually entering the Capitol on that day.
