Doomsday prepper father accused of plotting to kill federal agents and stockpiling guns and explosives for the 'end of days' ... only for FBI to raid his home and find only food and five legal firearms in safe

Martin Winters, 55, of Valrico, Florida, had been under government surveillance since October

He was charged with building destructive devices

Winters ran from authorities on Monday when they presented him with a search warrant

Investigators believed he had over 50 assault rifles and several explosives buried on his property

They found barrels of food

Winters surrendered on Wednesday and was arrested



His daughters have defended their father, saying he is not dangerous

They claim he was preparing for an emergency lockdown-type situation

Federal agents this week searched the Florida home of a 'doomsday prepper' they alleged had stockpiled over 50 high-powered assault rifles and several explosive devices buried around his property as 'booby traps'.

However the warrant showed up little more than barrels of food.

Martin Winters, a father-of-three from Valrico, surrendered to police on Wednesday following a widespread two-day hunt.

Investigators had claimed the 55-year-old was preparing for 'an end-of-times event as prophesied by the Book of Revelations', according to ABC News.



False alarm? Agents went to the Valrico property of Martin Winters looking for as many as 50 high-powered AR-15 rifles and several explosive devices, but found only buried barrels of food

Raid: Federal agents exact a search warrant on the home of alleged 'doomsday prepper' Martin Winters in Valrico, Florida Martin Winters allegedly told an undercover agent he had built illegal weapons, along with concerning comments about how he was going to use them

According to a federal affidavit, Winters was part of a group called the River Otter Preppers and had a plan to kill government agents 'if necessary'.

Winters allegedly told an undercover agent he had 50 AR-15 rifles buried on his property and other properties.

The agent also said Winters told him he wanted to burn his house down and then shoot agents as they arrived to the scene, and that he had set up bombs as booby traps.

Winters had been under government surveillance since October, after he was indicted on four counts of building destructive devices.

Winters also said he had at least 40 men that were willing to participate in his 'last stand', officials said.

But in federal court on Wednesday, Winters' defense attorney, Ellis Faught, said the confidential informant's estimates were wide of the mark.

The informant had bought four so-called destructive devices from Winters, but they were not buried as booby traps.

Five guns were found locked in a safe, according to 10 News.



Martin Winters had been under government surveillance since October, after being arrested on explosives charges The FBI alleged that Martin and others had been stockpiling arms and also set traps on his property. According to the FBI, he was attached to a doomsday group preparing for 'an end-of-times event as prophesied by the Book of Revelations'

'None of this was there,' Fraught told the court, the station reported.



'And it's my understanding that no guns were dug up.

'It was alleged by the government that there were 50 to 60 guns and I'm only aware of five of them that were found and they were found in his house in a safe.'

The FBI have not formally released what they found in the search and could present new evidence in their case against Winters.



Winters' daughters said in an interview with 10 News that their father was not 'extremely dangerous', as authorities had claimed.

'We knew he wouldn't hurt anyone. We knew he wouldn't put anyone else in jeopardy,' the daughters said.

Amy Cason - one of Martin Winters' daughters and pictured here with her father - says he never intended to hurt anyone

They added that what is buried on the property is dozens of barrels of food.

'He is just preparing if days were to come where there was no grocery store and you had to have food and you couldn't go get it,' said Winters' youngest daughter, Tracie.

'It's not like he's preparing to hurt anyone ever. That's not his intentions.'

Winters will remain in jail until his next court appearance on July 17.