Militia leader posed with Greg Abbott four days before feds found ammonium nitrate, weapons at hotel

Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott is seen posing with border militia member Kevin Lyndel Massey at an Oct. 16 campaign event in Brownsville. Four days later, federal authorities arrested Massey on federal weapons charges and found a weapons cache, including ammonium nitrate, in Massey's hotel room. less Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott is seen posing with border militia member Kevin Lyndel Massey at an Oct. 16 campaign event in Brownsville. Four days later, federal authorities arrested Massey on ... more Image 1 of / 50 Caption Close Militia leader posed with Greg Abbott four days before feds found ammonium nitrate, weapons at hotel 1 / 50 Back to Gallery

Four days before federal authorities arrested him on federal weapons charges and found ammonium nitrate in his South Texas hotel room, border militia leader Kevin Lyndel "K.C." Massey chatted and posed for a photo with Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott at a campaign event in Brownsville.

The photo, taken at Brownsville restaurant Cobbleheads on Oct. 16, shows Massey wearing an "Abbott for Governor" sticker on his military fatigues and shaking hands with the smiling candidate.

Video footage captured by Fox 2 News in Brownsville also shows Massey taking photos of Abbott while wearing a GoPro camera on his head, which was later confiscated during the raid.

Massey posted another photo of himself and Abbott at the event on his Facebook profile — since deleted, but snagged by ValleyCentral.com — with the caption, "Trying to talk to Greg Abbott about the border problems. I gave him my number we will see if he calls."

Abbott deputy communications director Amelia Chasse said Abbott and his campaign did not know who Massey was when the candidate posed with the militia member. She declined to comment whether Massey posed a security threat to Abbott.

"This individual was part of a photo line at a public event and Greg Abbott took a photo with everyone who was in the line at that event," Chasse said, adding the two exchanged only "pleasantries" during their brief encounter.

Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who searched Massey's hotel room in Brownsville after an Oct. 20 arrest, found an AK-47 with six loaded magazines, a loaded handgun, a ballistic helmet and several cameras, as well as an ammunition box filled with suspected ammonium nitrate — which can cause major explosions — and fuel, according to court documents obtained by the San Antonio Express-News.

Chasse declined to say whether Abbott supports the group.

"Greg Abbott places his trust in the Department of Public Safety, border sheriffs, the National Guard and local law enforcement to do the job necessary to keep Texans safe," Chasse said.

The campaign did not respond to a follow-up question regarding whether Abbott, an avid gun rights advocate, is concerned that some militia members are allegedly patrolling the border with weapons that, under federal law, they are prohibited from carrying.

Abbott's opponent Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis blasted Abbott in a statement for not condemning militia groups' activity at the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It's hard to say what's more disturbing: the fact that Greg Abbott met with a radical militia leader days before federal authorities found the same kind of explosives from the Oklahoma City bombing in his hotel room or the fact that Greg Abbott is refusing to denounce his dangerous fringe group," Davis said. "Mr. Abbott's refusal to disclose what they discussed or condemn this group shows a frightening lack of judgment from someone who wants to be our governor."

In July, The Texas Democratic Congressional Delegation, including U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of San Antonio, called on Abbott to denounce militia groups at the border. At the time, Abbott spokeswoman Lauren Bean called the move a "partisan political stunt."

In a statement Friday, Castro said the incident "serves as a reminder that patrolling the border should be left to the authorities."

"This is what happens when you don't stand up for the rule of law, and allow felons to 'patrol' the border," Castro said. "Greg Abbott should take this opportunity to denounce these groups."

While the optics of the photo may be unwelcome for the Abbott campaign, it's not likely to stir any major shakeups four days from the Nov. 4 election, said Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University.

Jones pointed out that candidates take thousands of photos with potential supporters while on campaigning and are unable to vet each one.

"Certainly for Abbott, it's not something you would like to see, but at the same time, political candidates shake hands with people at political rallies and meetings on a daily basis," Jones said.

Massey was arrested in connection to an Aug. 29 incident during which a Border Patrol agent fired four shots at a man pointing a weapon at the agent near the Rio Grande while pursuing a group of immigrants east of Brownsville, according to documents from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Brownsville.

During the incident, agents seized a pistol from the man, identified as militia member John Frederick Foerster, and two firearms – a pistol and rifle – carried by Massey, who was in the vicinity with another militia member.

Foerster, who was arrested Oct. 21, and Massey have each committed prior felonies, which prohibits them from carrying firearms under federal law. Both have been charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Massey was sentenced to five years in prison for felony burglary in Dallas County in 1988, court records show. That incident revoked his probation from a 1985 arrest of another burglary charge.

Foerster was arrested by Brownsville police Feb. 14, 2001, on three counts of burglarizing a building, a state jail felony punishable up to two years in prison, Texas Department of Public Safety records show. He later pleaded guilty to all three charges.

Ammonium nitrate has massive explosive power under certain circumstances: a stockpile of the substance at a fertilizer plant in West caused the April 17 explosion that killed 15 people and injured more than 160 others and the substance was also used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people.

jfechter@express-news.net

Twitter: @JFreports