River Smith, 21, pleads guilty to federal weapons charge after expressing desire to harm law enforcement

Note: The video above first aired on Dec. 15, 2022

MINNEAPOLIS – River Smith, the 21-year-old Twin Cities man accused of stockpiling an arsenal of weapons for a possible attack on law enforcement, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Smith, of Savage, was charged in December with a count of illegally possessing a machine gun.

Court documents state that the FBI was tipped off in September about Smith's "disturbing behavior" at a metro firearm range. FBI agents then used a "confidential human source" (CHS) to begin talking with him on social media.

Smith told the CHS that he was "pro mass shooting," and he admired the criminals who killed and wounded victims in the Parkland High School massacre in Florida, and at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado. He also said that he had been studying police body camera footage online to learn more about his "enemy."

Smith also revealed that he had an assault rifle, handguns, as well as body and head armor. In November, he contacted another CHS to acquire auto sears, or switches, in order to make his weapons fully automatic, as well as fragmentary grenades used in close combat.

In early December, Smith gave the second CHS a down payment for the weapons. Several days later, Smith was taken into custody during a second meeting with the CHS, after he paid almost $700 for the weapons.

Smith's sentencing date has not been scheduled.