A senior developer at a defense and intelligence contractor in Washington DC, Hatchet Speed, took part in the January 6 US Capitol insurrection and planned to kidnap influential Jews such as George Soros and the leaders of the Anti-Defamation League and was only arrested more than a year later, according to a report by news website The Intercept.
Until an investigation was launched against him, Speed also served in the Navy reserves where he had held a number of sensitive positions, according to the report. When the Navy learned that he was being investigated, it locked Speed out of sensitive facilities and gave him a fake job to avoid arousing suspicion on his part.
Speed, who was convicted last week of obstructing Congress's confirmation of the 2020 presidential election results along with four misdemeanors, is a member of the far-right neo-fascist group the Proud Boys.
According to The Intercept, Speed managed to get away from the Capitol riot undetected, and an investigation was only opened into him more than a year after the fact while he amassed a large arsenal of weapons and silencers.
FBI investigates Speed more than a year later
In January 2022, the FBI launched an investigation into Speed which involved the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. In February, the FBI sent an undercover agent to pose as a fellow neo-Nazi, meet with him and record their conversations.
During Speed's conversations with the undercover agent, he expressed wishes to "retake America from the control of Jews and liberals." According to The Intercept, he also expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and called him "one of the best people that's ever been on this earth."
Speed reportedly outlined his plans to the agent to kidnap Jewish leaders that he could get to easily because they don't have bodyguards.
Speed's plans were not only limited to prominent Jews, however. A report by The Washington Times said that he told the undercover agent that wanted to "enlist Christians to wipe out the country’s entire Jewish population.”
Speed was found guilty in two trials
Speed was eventually arrested in June of last year and stood two trials. In the first trial, he was found guilty in Virginia in January of illegally purchasing silencers and weapons. The second ended last week with the conviction of obstruction and misdemeanors. He is set to receive his sentencing at the beginning of May.
According to The Washington Post, Judge Trevor N. McFadden, before whom Speed stood trial the second time, said that Speed knew that what he did was illegal. He said that while Speed may not have intended to break into the Capitol prior to attending the riot, he and the mob changed their minds once former vice president Mike Pence announced that he would not reject the legitimate votes.
The Proud Boys were a prominent group at the January 6 insurrection, and dozens of members were arrested and stood trial for crimes committed that day. A few months after the riot, Canada designated the group as a terrorist organization.