JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) – A Missouri man has been convicted by a federal jury for his role in a plot to assassinate U.S. Border Patrol agents and for shooting at FBI agents during his arrest.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of MissouriJonathan O’Dell, 34, of Warsaw, Missouri, was convicted Nov. 7, along with a Tennessee man.

Investigators say the two men, both members of the 2nd U.S. Militia, planned to travel to Texas to shoot illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. They also planned to assassinate U.S. Border Patrol agents and employees who attempted to stop them.

O’Dell and Bryan Perry, of Tennessee, were convicted of conspiracy to assault federal agents and employees and conspiracy to injure federal agents and employees. They were convicted of seven counts of attempted murder of FBI special agents, seven counts of assaulting FBI special agents with a deadly weapon, three counts of assault of FBI special agents, 14 counts of using a firearm to commit a crime of violence, and one count of damaging federal property.

The press release states that O’Dell was also convicted of one count of threatening to injure another. During the trial, he also pleaded guilty to one count of illegally possessing a firearm while under a court order of protection, one count of making a false statement to a federal agent and one count of escape.

He escaped from Phelps County Jail in September 2023 before being found and arrested in Ray County, Missouri, near Kansas City. Police said a witness who knew O’Dell reported him in possession of a stolen vehicle in Phelps County. This vehicle was also found at the time of the arrest. The arresting agencies were the FBI, Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Ray County Sheriff’s Office.

O’Dell and Perry founded the 2nd American Militia in 2022 and attempted to recruit others. The two even announced a recruiting event in Warsaw before leaving for the border.

In October 2022, FBI agents arrested O’Dell and Perry at O’Dell’s home; they used it to prepare for the trip and collected firearms, paramilitary equipment, ammunition and other supplies.

Perry posted a video to TikTok from O’Dell’s house discussing illegal immigrants arriving in the United States from Mexico.

According to investigators, Perry said the U.S. Border Patrol was committing treason by allowing these illegal immigrants into the United States, and that the penalty for treason was death. Perry posted another video on TikTok the next day in which he declared that he was “ready to go to war against this government.”

On October 7, 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant for O’Dell’s residence in the 34000 block of US 65 near Warsaw. Officers said when they arrived at the home, they came under fire. Officers say they did not return fire. They arrested O’Dell, Perry and another inside the home a short time later. Investigators say Perry admitted to shooting.

Authorities say officers responded by firing flashbulbs around the home. When law enforcement told Perry to come out of the house, Perry took down an American flag from the porch of the house and walked down the steps while waving the flag.

After beginning to walk toward the officers, Perry then turned around to re-enter the house. The officers pursued Perry, who began fighting and swinging his fists, hitting the officers several times and injuring at least one officer before being taken into custody.

Federal agents then searched the home and found six firearms, 23 magazines loaded with ammunition, 1,770 rounds of various other ammunition, 11 spent shell casings, two sets of body armor with matching plate carrying vests, a portable radio, two sniper rests, two gas masks. , two ballistic helmets, several containers of a binary explosive mixture commonly sold as an explosive target, zip ties, and two 2nd US Militia patches.

Under federal law, O’Dell and Perry each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison without parole, and up to life in prison without parole.

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