A former Navy SEAL who told a store clerk he planned to throw explosives at police officers during a California protest was convicted on federal charges and sentenced to 16 months in prison, a case that began because the clerk wrote down his license plate.
Gregory Vandenberg, 49, purchased six mortar-style fireworks and 72 M-150 firecrackers at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, while driving from El Paso, Texas, toward San Diego ahead of a June 14, 2025, "No Kings" demonstration. He did not try to hide what he intended to do with them. Prosecutors said Vandenberg told the clerk outright that he planned to throw the fireworks at law enforcement officers at the protest, repeatedly asked how much gunpowder the devices contained, and asked whether taping multiple mortars together would increase their explosive force.
He told the clerk he was interested only in the fireworks' ability to injure officers. He even encouraged the clerk to attend the protests and hand out fireworks to others, assuring the employee he personally would not get hurt because of his military experience.
A federal jury found Vandenberg guilty on two counts, transportation of explosives with intent to kill, injure, or intimidate, and attempted transportation of prohibited fireworks into California, after a five-day trial. Jurors deliberated roughly three hours before returning the verdict.
The case never would have existed without the travel center employees. After Vandenberg laid out his intentions in plain language, the clerk and coworkers wrote down his license plate number and contacted law enforcement before he could cross into California.
Federal agents tracked Vandenberg to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, and arrested him the following morning. He was sleeping inside his vehicle. AP News reported the arrest occurred on June 13, one day before the planned protest.
Vandenberg was unemployed and living out of his car. He falsely told investigators he was traveling for work, prosecutors said. He later changed his story and claimed he was visiting friends in Phoenix.
A search of Vandenberg's vehicle turned up the purchased fireworks along with clothing bearing antisemitic, anti-Israel, and extremist imagery. Newsmax reported the items included a shirt bearing an al-Qaida flag and another calling for the destruction of Judea. He had worn a custom-made shirt with the word "AMALEK" to the travel center; he told investigators the word meant "destroyer of Jews."
Fox News reported that his phone displayed a Taliban flag and contained violent extremist content. A forensic review of the device also uncovered antisemitic, anti-Israel, and anti-U.S. material, as well as messages discussing the upcoming protests. Prosecutors argued the messages showed Vandenberg believed the U.S. government, including President Donald Trump, was controlled by Israel and Jewish people, a belief they said helped establish his motive for targeting law enforcement.
Neo-Nazi Black Sun imagery was also found among his belongings.
Vandenberg was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison. Upon release, he will serve one year of supervised release. He remains in custody.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison issued a statement after the verdict:
"People in this country are free to hold their own beliefs and to express them peacefully. What they are not free to do is use explosives to threaten or terrorize others."
Ellison added that Vandenberg "intended to turn explosives into a tool of intimidation" and that the verdict "sends the message that attempts to substitute violence for expressing one's opinion has no place in our communities and will be met with federal consequences."
AP News noted that Vandenberg faced up to 10 years in prison on the charges. The 16-month sentence he received fell well below that statutory maximum.
Vandenberg served as a U.S. Navy SEAL, one of the most demanding and respected roles in the American military. By the time of his arrest, he was unemployed, living in his car, steeped in extremist ideology, and driving across state lines with fireworks he openly planned to use against police officers at a political protest.
The "No Kings" protests on June 14, 2025, drew demonstrators in San Diego and elsewhere.
Several questions remain unanswered in public reporting. Which federal agency, the FBI, ATF, or another, conducted the tracking and arrest has not been specified. Whether Vandenberg had ties to any organized extremist group, whether anyone else was investigated in connection with the plot, and whether he testified at his own trial are all unclear from available court records and statements.
What is clear is that a store clerk in a small New Mexico town did what citizens are supposed to do: saw something dangerous, took it seriously, and called law enforcement. That decision kept Vandenberg from reaching San Diego with a bag full of explosives and a stated plan to use them on cops.
When the system works, it usually starts with an ordinary person who refuses to look the other way, and law enforcement that acts on the tip before it is too late.
