California — A former U.S. Navy SEAL convicted of transporting explosives he intended to use against law enforcement officers at a California protest has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison.
Gregory Vandenberg, 49, will also serve one year of supervised release following his imprisonment. The federal system does not offer parole.
According to court records, Vandenberg was traveling from El Paso, Texas, to San Diego on June 12, 2025, intending to attend a “No Kings Day” protest scheduled for June 14.
During a stop at a travel center near Lordsburg, New Mexico, he purchased six large aerial mortar fireworks and 72 M-150 firecrackers designed to produce sounds resembling gunfire.
Prosecutors said Vandenberg told a store clerk that he planned to throw fireworks at police officers during the protest. He reportedly asked about the fireworks’ gunpowder content, explosive force and capacity to injure people, while discussing taping several together to make a more powerful explosive.
Vandenberg allegedly said he was interested only in the fireworks’ ability to create explosions and harm officers, rather than their colors or visual effects. He also discussed distributing fireworks to others and encouraged the clerk to attend the protest.
Concerned employees recorded Vandenberg’s license plate and contacted law enforcement.
Federal agents tracked him to Tucson, Arizona, where they arrested him the following morning as he slept in his vehicle at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Authorities said Vandenberg initially claimed he was traveling for work, although he was unemployed, before saying he planned to visit friends in Phoenix.
Investigators recovered the fireworks from his vehicle, along with clothing displaying antisemitic, anti-Israel and extremist imagery. Items included a shirt bearing an Al-Qaeda flag and another calling for the destruction of Judea. His phone’s home screen displayed a Taliban flag, according to prosecutors.
Authorities also said Vandenberg wore a custom-made shirt displaying the word “AMALEK” when he purchased the fireworks. He reportedly told investigators the word meant “destroyer of Jews.”
A review of his phone uncovered antisemitic, anti-Israel, anti-American and extremist messages and searches, court records stated. Prosecutors argued Vandenberg believed the U.S. government was controlled by Israel and Jewish people and that those beliefs motivated his plan to attack law enforcement officers.
Following a five-day trial, a federal jury convicted Vandenberg on Jan. 12, 2026, of transporting explosives with intent to kill, injure or intimidate and attempting to transport prohibited fireworks into California.
The FBI’s Las Cruces Resident Agency investigated the case with assistance from the FBI in Tucson, Tucson Police Department, Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico prosecuted the case.
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