Jarrett William Smith

Jarrett William Smith was a U.S. Army Specialist stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas who was arrested on September 21, 2019 for distributing bomb-making instructions to undercover FBI agents. He was an admirer of Atomwaffen Division and a member of Feuerkrieg Division, a transnational neo-Nazi accelerationist network. Online communications documented by investigators showed him discussing potential attacks on targets including presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke and CNN offices. He pled guilty on February 10, 2020 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison on August 19, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree in the District of Kansas, case number 5:19-cr-40091-DDC.¹

Investigation and Arrest

Smith communicated with undercover FBI agents posing as fellow extremists in an online chat group, using the moniker "Anti-Kosmik 2182." The FBI undercover engagement occurred on September 20, 2019, from Fort Riley, the day before his arrest. Over several months he distributed detailed instructions for constructing improvised explosive devices, including guidance on building car bombs. In online conversations he discussed attacking Beto O'Rourke, who was running for the Democratic presidential nomination at the time, and discussed attacking CNN offices. He framed prospective violence in accelerationist terms consistent with Siege-influenced ideology, treating mass casualty attacks as catalysts for societal collapse.

Early news coverage reported that Smith had discussed these targets and used language indicating murder solicitation. These statements appeared in the criminal complaint affidavit but were not carried into the formal indictment or plea: the two-count indictment covered the IED and napalm instruction distribution, not the discussed attack planning. FBI agents arrested him at Fort Riley on September 21, 2019. He was still on active duty at the time of arrest.²

Feuerkrieg Division Connection

Feuerkrieg Division (FKD) is a transnational neo-Nazi accelerationist network founded in 2018, structured as a decentralized franchise operating through encrypted messaging applications. It recruited from AWD-adjacent online spaces and had documented members in the United States, United Kingdom, Estonia, and other countries. Smith's membership placed him in an international network of accelerationist cells operating simultaneously with the AWD prosecutions of 2018-2019. FKD's Estonian founder, a teenager known as "Commander," was identified by Estonian authorities in January 2020 but could not be criminally prosecuted due to his age (13); three other FKD members were convicted by a Harju County Court in January 2025 for membership in and recruitment for a terrorist organization.

AWD membership or association was never charged as a separate count or element in Smith's case. DOJ press releases and Anti-Defamation League reporting describe Smith as "associated with" Feuerkrieg Division and as an AWD admirer, but no court document formally charged AWD membership. The FBI investigation centered on his FKD network activities.³

Guilty Plea and Sentence

Smith pled guilty on February 10, 2020 to two counts of distributing information relating to explosives, destructive devices, and weapons of mass destruction, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 842(p)(2)(A). The maximum sentence on each count was 20 years. On August 19, 2020, Judge Crabtree sentenced him to two concurrent 30-month terms in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release, well below the statutory maximum. No terrorism enhancement was applied at sentencing, which accounts in part for the 30-month term. At sentencing, prosecutors described Smith as a "Satanist" and argued that his goal was to overthrow the U.S. government, drawing on Smith's broader ideological communications.⁴