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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 24, 2022
U.S. Army Soldier Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Murder Fellow Service Members In Deadly Ambush
U.S. Army Private Ethan Melzer Sent Sensitive U.S. Military Information to Members of a White Supremacist Group in an Attempt to Facilitate a Deadly Jihadist Attack on His Army Unit
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that ETHAN PHELAN MELZER, a/k/a “Etil Reggad,” pled guilty to attempting to murder U.S. service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and illegally transmitting national defense information. MELZER planned a jihadist attack on his U.S. Army unit in the days leading up to a deployment to Turkey and sent sensitive details about the unit—including information about its location, movements, and security—to members of the extremist organizationOrder of the Nine Angles (“O9A”), an occult-based, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist group. MELZER pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As he admitted in court today, Ethan Melzer attempted to orchestrate a murderous ambush on his own unit by unlawfully disclosing its location, strength, and armaments to a neo-Nazi, anarchist, white supremacist group. The defendant believed he could force the U.S. into prolonged armed conflict while causing the deaths of as many soldiers as possible. MELZER’s traitorous conduct was a betrayal of his storied unit and nothing short of an attack against the most essential American values. Thanks to the incredible work of the FBI and the U.S. Army, MELZER’s duplicity was revealed and his murderous attack thwarted.”
According to the Indictment and other documents in the public record, as well as statements made in public court proceedings:
MELZER has been a member of O9A since at least 2017. O9A espouses neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic, and Satanic beliefs, and promotes extreme violence to accelerate and cause the demise of Western civilization. The group has expressed admiration both for Nazis, such as Adolf Hitler, and Islamic jihadists, such as Usama Bin Laden, the now-deceased former leader of al Qaeda. Members and associates of O9A have also participated in acts of violence, including murders. O9A members are instructed to fulfill “sinister” deeds, including “insight roles,” where they attempt to infiltrate various organizations, including the military, to gain training and experience, commit acts of violence, identify like-minded individuals, and ultimately subvert those groups from within.
MELZER joined the U.S. Army in approximately 2018 as part of an O9A insight role to infiltrate its ranks and further his goals as an O9A adherent. In approximately October 2019, MELZER deployed abroad with the Army to Italy as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. While stationed abroad, MELZER consumed propaganda from multiple extremist groups, including O9A and the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, which is also known as ISIS. For example, MELZER subscribed to encrypted online forums where he downloaded and accessed videos of jihadist attacks on U.S. troops and facilities and jihadist executions of civilians and soldiers, in addition to far-right, neo-Nazi, and other white supremacist propaganda.
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https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/us-army-soldier-pleads-guilty-attempting-murder-fellow-service-members-deadly-ambush