Man who planned ‘hit squad’ caught with rifles, ammo

White supremacist not allowed to possess guns after prior conviction

A white supremacist from Washington County who once planned a “hit squad” to kill Black and Jewish people was charged again — this time for allegedly possessing two homemade assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Shane Robert Smith, 24, of Whitehall — who told an undercover officer “I love violence” and whose listed interests included “destroying the government” before his prior arrest in 2015 — was charged with having two short-barrel rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition as a felon, federal prosecutors in Albany said Thursday.

Under federal law, convicted felons are not permitted to possess guns. Smith allegedly had the weapons in his home on Dec. 15.

It was a Grade A violation of Smith’s federal supervised release, which is described as an “offense punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year that is a crime of violence.” He is in federal custody.

The terms of Smith’s supervised release were modified in January 2020 after a state parole officer and federal probation officer conducting an unannounced visit at Smith’s home found “items consistent with white supremacy beliefs (militia flags, combat field guides, notes on reloading ammunition).” They noted he had a “past tie with white supremacist beliefs.”

Federal prosecutors in the Northern District announced Smith’s arrest in the wake of the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by a violent mob of enraged supporters of President Donald Trump rioting over the certification of Presidentelect Joseph Biden’s election victory.

Smith’s case was one of many cases on the fringe of domestic terrorism in recent years in the

Capital Region.

In April 2016, Smith pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Mae D’agostino in Albany to having a machine gun. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested him in a sting the previous August. The judge sentenced him to 37 months in prison.

Back in 2014, Smith had joined a Russian social media network called VK. He listed his interests as “guns, gunsmithing, building bombs, knives, guerrilla warfare, preserving my race and folk, and destroying the government,” a federal prosecutor told the judge.

That year, Smith was forming a group called “SRA,” short for “Silent Resistance Army,” Assistant

U.S. Attorney Sean O’dowd said at the time. Smith hoped to acquire machine guns, explosives and bullets that could pierce body armor. He believed he was acquiring them when he was arrested in August 2015.

Smith had tried to use maple syrup as currency to pay for the weapons.

An undercover operative had asked Smith “You building your own army?”

“Well, like a hit squad,” Smith responded, prosecutors have said.

When asked what he planned to use the weapons for, Smith said it was “gonna be used to execute (racial slurs for Jewish and Black people”) and get money for the crew.”