A man “motivated by neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies” has been indicted for allegedly selling firearms and gun parts while behind bars in federal custody, New York authorities said Tuesday.
Hayden Espinosa, 24, was released from a federal prison in Louisiana on June 4, when he was immediately detained by the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office on charges in New York City, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced.
Espinosa had access to a smuggled cell phone that allowed him to use a Telegram channel called “3D Amendment” to sell “illegal firearms and parts,” prosecutors said. An undercover NYPD officer was among Espinosa’s clients, Bragg said.
Members of Espinosa’s channel “were motivated by neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies,” according to prosecutors. The channel’s members are dedicated to “ethnically motivated extremism,” which is a “combination of racist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, misogynistic and homophobic ideology,” prosecutors said.
“The combination of extremism and firearms is incredibly dangerous and threatens the safety of many New Yorkers,” Bragg said in a statement.
This same Telegram channel was once used by the racist shooter who killed 10 black people at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022, authorities said.
“There is a deep digital footprint of white supremacy and Nazi ideology online. Today’s indictment spans multiple states, including Ohio, Louisiana and Texas,” NYPD Counterterrorism Chief Rebecca Weiner told reporters on Tuesday.
The suspect was still in Louisiana on Tuesday, awaiting extradition to New York for his scheduled June 24 arraignment, authorities said.
It was not immediately clear whether Espinosa had hired or been assigned a criminal defense attorney to speak on his behalf.
Prior to this arrest, Espinosa was serving a 33-month federal sentence in Pollock, Louisiana, for illegal possession of weapons and manufacturing 3D printed firearm parts.
He is now charged with four counts of alleged illegal transportation of firearms and one count of attempted illegal sale of a firearm.
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