Had Joseph Rubino not wrecked his car, he might still be living with a house full of guns in New Jersey.

But on the morning of 24 July, Mr Rubino was driving his white Chevy van on Route 517 in Allamuchy, New Jersey, when he lost control of the vehicle and slammed into a tree, seriously injuring himself and a passenger.

When officers from the New Jersey State Police began extracting him from the wreckage, they noticed something unsettling in the van: a stockpile of assault weapons and ammunition.

In a subsequent search of his home, police said they found more than a dozen other weapons, drugs and a box of neo-Nazi paraphernalia.

Mr Rubino, of Lafayette Township in Sussex County, was charged on Tuesday in federal court in Newark with unlawful possession of a firearm, along with several drug offences.

The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Show all 23 1 /23 The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network, a white nationalist group, burn a swastika and cross during a party outside Atkins, Arkansas, U.S on March 9, 2019 Reuters The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network hold up balloons decorated as the face of Adolf Hitler and give a white-power hand signal as they celebrate the German fascist's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Billy Roper of the ShieldWall Network attends a party at a home outside Atkins. The group primarily operates in Arkansas and includes three other members who were recently charged with assault in connection with the beating of a gay man, according to police reports REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network march to a rally opposing legal abortion and supporting gun rights at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Jeff Schoep, former chairman of the National Socialist Movement, speaks during a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 10, 2018 Reuters The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Crosses lit by members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan burn outside Yanceyville, North Carolina, U.S., November 4, 2017. The Loyal White Knights is one of the largest Klan groups in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks extremist groups REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan prepare for a cross-burning outside Yanceyville, North Carolina, U.S., November 4, 2017 REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network perform a Nazi salute as a swastika and cross burn during a party outside Atkins, Arkansas, March 9, 2019 REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US High chairs are seen in a building owned by The Knights Party, a white nationalist group formerly named the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, outside Harrison, Arkansas, March 10, 2019. The organisation is opening an education center for the children of white nationalists REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Chris Barker of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan addresses an audience before a cross-burning outside Yanceyville REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US A figurine of a black man being lynched inside the home of Chris Barker of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Yanceyville REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US John Carollo, a member of the ShieldWall Network, holds up a photo montage of (clockwise from top left) Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Adolf Hitler, founder of the American Nazi Party George Lincoln Rockwell, Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, while attending a party at a home outside Atkins REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Symbols of white nationalism are displayed on the jacket of a member of the National Socialist Movement as they gather in a parking lot before attending a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network prepare a swastika for burning to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US A new member of the ShieldWall Network, Nicholas Holloway, and other members of the white nationalist group go boating to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Russellville, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Courtney Calfy, wife of Julian Calfy, helps to prepare a meal as members of the ShieldWall Network gather to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US John Carollo, a member of the ShieldWall Network, on the phone during a celebration of Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US A plaque on top of a flagpole with the number 1488 is carried by members of the National Socialist Movement as they attend a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 10, 2018 REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network John Carollo, Julian Calfy and Nicholas Holloway gather at a member's home before departing to disrupt a Jewish Holocaust memorial event in Russellville, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network burn a swastika to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Chris Barker of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is seen inside what the group calls its church, next to his home in Yanceyville REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network go boating to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Russellville, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network, a white nationalist group, prepare to burn a swastika and cross during a party at a home outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS

In addition to the large collection of weapons found at his home, law enforcement officers discovered 3 kilograms of marijuana, 70 grams of methamphetamine, and boxes of bumper stickers and clothing with SS bolts — “common white supremacist and Nazi symbols,” prosecutors said.

Officers also found a document labelled with a racial epithet “containing racist material and purporting to be an instruction manual for owning a slave,” prosecutors said.

Why Mr Rubino kept such a large arsenal — a collection the police say included semi-automatic handguns, shotguns, rifles with scopes and a grenade launcher — remains unclear. But the arrest comes as the nation is already on edge after a spate of recent mass shootings, at least one of which was inspired by racist hatred, and the arrests in the past week of three men who authorities said were planning attacks.

On 3 August, a gunman opened fire in a crowded Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and killed 22 people; the 21-year-old suspect wrote in a manifesto before the attack that it was motivated by “the Hispanic invasion.”

Less than a day later, a man killed nine people in 32 seconds in Dayton, Ohio.

Late last week, police arrested a 20-year-old man near Youngstown, Ohio, after he threatened to shoot up a Jewish community centre. In Norwalk, Connecticut, a 22-year-old was arrested after he began collecting weapons for the purpose of committing a mass shooting, according to the police. And in Florida, a 25-year-old man was arrested after police said he sent a text message expressing a desire to “break a world record for longest confirmed kill ever.”

Although Mr Rubino’s motivation for harbouring such an arsenal remains unclear, all these arrests come as federal law enforcement officials grapple with a resurgent white supremacist threat, the rise of which some say has been aided by rhetoric from the White House and conservative media outlets. The arrests come a decade after the federal government effectively disbanded the Department of Homeland Security team that tracked domestic terrorism.

A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in New Jersey would not say if Mr Rubino was on investigators’ radar before his car accident in July. Neither the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives nor the FBI could be reached for comment.

In New York City, there has been a significant increase in hate crimes this year, up 68 per cent from last year as of June, according to police statistics.

Prosecutors in New Jersey said the Nazi paraphernalia Mr Rubino possessed was also associated with outlaw motorcycle gangs.

Aside from the firearms, the stockpile seized from Mr Rubino’s home and car included brass knuckles, at least one high-capacity magazine, hollow-point bullets, a wooden axe handle and a baseball bat, prosecutors said. A total of 17 guns were found.

In addition to firearms charges, Mr Rubino was charged with intent to distribute methamphetamines and marijuana. Prosecutors said he carried the weapons to assist with drug trafficking.

Rubino was convicted in 1999 of writing a bad check, prosecutors said - a felony that makes his possession of any firearm illegal.