RICHMOND, Va. — A Henrico man, and alleged supporter of ISIS, now faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced in February, after he pleaded guilty to acquiring a gun weeks after getting out of prison.
Casey Charles Spain, 28, entered the plea on Friday.
Spain had served more than seven years in prison after a 2010 abduction with intent to defile conviction.
“While in prison, Spain became radicalized and expressed a desire to engage in acts of violence,” according to the United States Attorney’s Office. “After Spain was released from the Virginia Department of Corrections on August 11, he took up residence in the Richmond area.”
The FBI watched Spain upon his release from prison.
During that time, the FBI said Spain spoke with a confidential informant about buying a gun.
“Given Spain’s criminal history, his desire to obtain a firearm, and the impatience he exhibited with regard to obtaining one, the [informant] as part of a controlled FBI undercover operation—offered to provide Spain with what the [informant] described as his own personal weapon,” the United States Attorney’s Office said. “In reality, the firearm, which was a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun, was the property of the FBI that had been rendered inert for safety reasons.”
Both the FBI and Richmond SWAT team arrested Spain during an August 31 undercover operation.
While in prison serving his initial sentence, the FBI learned Spain swore a pledge of loyalty, commonly known as bayat, to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS and obtained a tattoo of the ISIS flag on his back.
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