In a recent crime bust, two men were arrested in New York City on over 100 charges that border on domestic terrorism. Authorities found a stash of homemade weapons, ammunition, and IEDs in the men’s apartment, next to a power plant.
The arrest involves two brothers, Angel and Andrew Hatziagelis, who local authorities found in possession of weapons. Assault rifles, body armor, ghost guns, homemade explosive devices, and 3-D printed magazines with extra capacity are some of the items found in the brothers’ Queens apartment.
The Hatziagelis seem to be followers of extremist propaganda, as are several clippings on anti-government conspiracy theories. Likewise, authorities discovered a hit list that contained names of politicians, cops, celebrities, authorities, and judges. It does not end there, as authorities also found several notes containing instructions about the manufacture of explosive devices.
The arrest is a product of a six-month investigation by detectives and the NYPD. For a while now, police across different states in the US have been trying to deal with the proliferation of homemade arms and are making efforts to break the supply chain.
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Eventually, authorities obtained a search warrant and raided the residence of the Hatzikelis brothers on January 17. During a press briefing last week, District Attorney of Queens Melinda Katz revealed that the residence of the Hatziagelis brothers is right next to the CON Edison Power plant in Astoria.
Besides eight ready-to-go IEDs, there was one still under construction, and law enforcement was in awe of the level of sophistication of the entire setup.
During Katz’s press briefing, she explained that law enforcement also found smoke bombs in the apartment. Likewise, they found a 3D printer, 600 rounds of ammunition, and a partially constructed AK-47-style rifle.
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The duo also had a radio scanner, listening to the frequency of the 114th Precinct. So, they were likely tailing law enforcement communications over the radio.
Bomb detection squads had to come in for the detonation and evacuation of the IEDs in the apartment building. The squad had to evacuate the building intermittently for safety reasons. The bomb experts later clarified that homemade bombs are more sensitive and unpredictable. So, they could not take chances during the bomb detonation process.
The NYPD paid particular attention to the hit list on one of the notebooks found in the apartment. The Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counter-terrorism, Rebecca Weiner, said, “This was not an ordinary search warrant at all. And although we may yet know the defendant’s intentions or the extent of what we’ve disrupted yet, the investigation is ongoing.” The deputy commissioner also points out that conspiracists and anarchists seem to be following a trend of targeting politicians, police, and judges.
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While preliminary investigations rule out affiliations of the Hatziagelis brothers with any terrorist organization, authorities are considering the possibility of external influence by some of these extremist groups.
Andrew and Angelo Hatziagelis are 39 and 51 years old, respectively, and may bag up to 25 years of incarceration after their conviction.
There are also concerns that domestic terrorism may be more of a concern in the buildup to this year’s elections. Likewise, local law enforcement is trying to mop up the manufacturers of ghost guns. These weapons are used to trace criminal syndicates.
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