A Snohomish man who used his military experience to train extremist groups with illegal, high-powered firearms will spend the next two years in prison.
Kyle Benton, 29, was sentenced in Seattle federal court Thursday, July 17, after pleading guilty to Unlawful Possession of a Machinegun and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm.
His plea followed a months-long FBI investigation into his connections with white supremacist and violent extremist groups in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
Federal agents seized multiple illegal firearms from Benton’s Snohomish home in September 2024, including a fully automatic weapon resembling an M16 and two short-barrel rifles not registered as required under the National Firearms Act, prosecutors said.
Investigators also found a drop-in auto sear, a device that illegally converts semi-automatic rifles into machine guns.
Benton, who was discharged from the US Army, had reportedly used the weapons to gain status among extremist groups, offering tactical training sessions and firearms workshops for members. He also maintained multiple social media accounts where he posted neo-Nazi propaganda, anti-Semitic content, and promoted racially motivated violence.
“You not only illegally possessed extremely dangerous firearms, but you bragged about it and put on firearms trainings for others while doing so,” US District Judge Tana Lin said during sentencing.
Benton had also made threats to kill his wife and participated in hate rallies across the region, prosecutors said. Assistant US Attorney Brian Wynne noted that Benton “used the firearms along with his military experience to establish himself within the groups.”
In a letter to the court, Benton disavowed his white supremacist views.
