GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas — A suspected white nationalist who posted on social media about killing Jewish people has been federally charged after he used an undercover FBI agent to facilitate the sale of an AM-15 to a convicted felon, the Department of Justice said Monday in a news release.
FBI agents arrested Christian Michael Mackey, 20, in a parking lot near his Grand Prairie home Friday and charged him via criminal complaint with the unlawful sale of a firearm.
His initial court appearance was Monday. He has a detention hearing set for 1 p.m. Wednesday.
If convicted, Mackey faces up to 10 years in federal prison. If convicted, he would be permanently barred from possessing a firearm.
Officials said that while Mackey's alleged white supremacist views are "repugnant," that did not factor into why he was arrested and charged.
According to the DOJ, Mackey regularly posted in online chats organized by the Iron Youth, a Neo-Nazi white nationalist group dedicated to national socialism, militancy, and political terror. On Instagram, he urged fellow members of the Iron Youth to kill Jews and African Americans. He called himself a “radical jew slayer," said he liked "control and killing" and vowed to “die attacking the sustem [sic].”
“Although adherence to a repugnant ideology is not a crime in and of itself, unlawful sale is – and we are determined to hold Mr. Mackey accountable," said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah.
According to the DOJ, Mackey sold his AM-15 to a paid FBI source with multiple felony convictions in a sale facilitated by an undercover FBI agent on Jan. 29.
Mackey first met with the undercover agent last December, where he told the agent he was looking to sell his rifle in order to buy another gun. Mackey told the FBI agent that another Iron Youth member suggested buying a homemade pistol with no serial number. He changed his mind and told the FBI agent he was looking for a traditional rifle.
Later, the undercover FBI agent offered to facilitate the sale of Mackey's gun to another person -- the paid FBI felon source, unbeknownst to Mackey. The undercover agent told Mackey the prospective buyer was a felon.
Mackey told the agent he “could care less” who bought the gun, according to the DOJ.
The $800 sale happened at a gas station parking lot in Grand Prairie. According to the DOJ, Mackey asked the buyer they were "based," slang that means in support of white supremacist ideas. Mackey also told the buyer he heard they were a felon, but he didn't care.
The gun was immediately taken into FBI custody after the sale.
