Judge in Florida sentenced Brandon Russell to five years for possessing materials discovered by police while investigating the deaths of Russell’s roommates

A federal judge in Tampa has sentenced Brandon Russell, convicted for having bomb-making materials, to five years in prison, ending a case involving a double murder and a nascent neo-Nazi sect in south Florida.

At the end of a four-hour court hearing late on Tuesday, the judge said she had to protect the public – and expressed hope that Russell would not fall in with the wrong group of people while in prison.

“It’s a difficult case,” said district judge Susan Bucklew to the defendant, who wore orange jail clothes. “You seem like a very smart young man.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Brandon Russell. Photograph: AP

Russell, 22, is a member of the Florida national guard and a dual citizen of the US and the Bahamas. He pleaded guilty in September to possession of an unregistered destructive device and improper storage of explosive materials. This was his first arrest, something the judge took into account during sentencing.

The case came to light in May 2017, when Tampa police were called to an apartment north of downtown. There, they found two dead men. A roommate sat outside in fatigues, crying. That turned out to be Russell.

A fourth roommate, Devon Arthurs, was arrested soon after and charged with shooting and killing Andrew Oneschuk and Jeremy Himmelman.

Russell was not charged with the killings, and Arthurs said Russell had nothing to do with the deaths. But while detectives investigated, they discovered a stash of highly explosive materials in the apartment, and a cache of neo-Nazi signs, posters, books and flags.

Investigators later found that Russell and Arthurs were co-founder of a neo-Nazi group calling itself Atomwaffen Division, using the German word for “atomic weapon”. On Tuesday, prosecutors showed a photo of Russell’s car, which had flyers that said, “Don’t prepare for exams, prepare for a race war.” Russell also kept a framed photo of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in his room and read books such as Mein Kampf and The Turner Diaries. An FBI agent testified that both are reading staples of white supremacist extremists.

Arthurs allegedly told detectives he killed his roommates for teasing him about his recent conversion to Islam. He also said he killed his roommates to thwart a terrorist attack by Atomwaffen. He claimed Russell had materials in the house “to kill civilians and target locations like power lines, nuclear reactors, and synagogues”, prosecutors said.

“I prevented the deaths of a lot of people,” Arthurs said. Asked why his roommates would plan such an attack, he responded, “Because they want to build a Fourth Reich.”

Defense attorney Ian Goldstein said his client has accepted responsibility and that he wants to move forward with his life. He called Russell’s mother, who said the young man was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum and for having attention deficit disorder since he was young.

“He was always looking for something to belong to,” said a tearful Brigiite Chantalle Russell-Hilts.

Prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Russell to 11 years in prison, significantly more than what federal guidelines called for. They said Russell’s behavior between the time his roommates were found dead and when he was arrested – he went to another Atomwaffen member’s house, then bought guns and drove to south Florida – indicated his propensity for violence.

Prosecutor Josephine Thomas noted that “there have been other violent incidents in this country where people are claiming allegiance to Atomwaffen”. Asked about this later, she declined to give specifics.

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Goldstein maintained his client suffered from mental issues and was further traumatized by the deaths of his roommates. Prosecutors, he argued, pursued a longer sentence because of his beliefs. Although he admitted to having the bomb-making materials, there was no evidence he intended to use them against anyone, Goldstein asserted.

In a court filing delivered on Sunday, prosecutors said Russell drew a diagram of how to make an explosive in a letter he apparently intended to deliver to another Atomwaffen Division member outside jail. The FBI obtained copies of other letters in which Russell drew plans for an “Airborne Leaflet Dropping Device” showing Nazi propaganda falling from the sky, prosecutors said.

“In one letter, Russell attached a blurb about a 16-year-old Nazi who in 1962 told a judge, “I don’t care how long you put me in jail, your Honor … as soon as I get out, I will go right back to fight for my White Race and my America!’”

When summoned forward for sentencing, Judge Bucklew asked the young man if he had anything to say.

“I’m sorry for what I have done,” Russell said. “I take responsibility for what if have done.”