A Janesville man threatened to use chlorine gas against government agents if they attempted to take his guns, federal prosecutors say in court papers.
James Morgan, 32, pleaded guilty on April 21 in federal court in Milwaukee to one count of possession of chemical weapon precursors — or chemicals that combine to create chlorine and chlorine gas.
Sentencing will be Aug. 1 before Judge Brett H. Ludwig. Morgan faces up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release after he finishes his time behind bars.
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Morgan previously entered a guilty plea in 2024 to possession of six homemade pipe bombs.
On Dec. 21, 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at Morgan’s storage unit and found the chemicals, Richard G. Frohling, the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, said in a statement.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says exposure to precursor chemicals can irritate a person’s breathing, blur vision and, in severe cases, result in respiratory failure.
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The pipe bombs in the previous case, which was prosecuted in Madison by the Western District of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, also were discovered during that search, in a locked safe in a travel trailer.
Morgan, formerly known as Karactus Blome, had studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin –Whitewater and had described himself as a weapon designer who did not need a conventional weapon, Frohling said in a statement.
Morgan posted a video that displayed the chemicals, and also sent links for purchasing them.
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Morgan discussed in a series of messages in 2023 a plan to defeat the government, if it came for his guns, by producing a large amount of chlorine that he claimed could be used against roughly 20 government agents, according to court documents.
The FBI, the Janesville Police Department, and the Whitewater Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Scully is prosecuting the case in the Eastern District of Wisconsin while Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Duchemin prosecuted the case in the Western District of Wisconsin.
Trial attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section, assisted on both prosecutions.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Feds: Janesville man stored chemicals needed for chlorine gas
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