(Ken Silva, Headline USA) Virginia man Russell Richardson Vane IV stole government documents, experimented with making a biological weapon, and pushed a militia in his area to commit acts of terrorism earlier this year—leading to his expulsion from the group.
Moreover, Vane held a security clearance as an analyst for the Pentagon’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency when he committed those crimes.
But despite Vane’s crimes and the position of power he held while committing them, the Justice Department seeks just 30 months imprisonment for him.
The DOJ seeks just 30 months imprisonment for Vane, who stole government documents, experimented w/ making ricin, and tried getting a militia to commit acts of terrorism.
Contrast this to the decades-plus sentences imposed against the Whitmer kidnap defendants or Jack Teixeira,… https://t.co/XAZUOBxqMk pic.twitter.com/121Rl8KnkV
— Ken Silva (@JD_Cashless) November 7, 2024
“The defendant is plainly remorseful. He understands the impact that his behavior has had on his security clearance, his career, and his family. Perhaps he himself needs no further deterrence to prevent him from reoffending,” DOJ lawyers said in their Wednesday sentencing memorandum—going relatively easy on a man accused of being a government asset.
Vane’s lawyers, for their part, seek an even lighter sentence: time served, or home confinement. Vane only served several months in prison before he was released on bail, allowing him to stay at home and take work as a plumber, his lawyers said.
“The FBI did find ricin, but only because Mr. Vane had done nothing to dispose of the substance in his laundry attic room even though he was well-aware he was being investigated by federal law enforcement authorities. He had created the ricin approximately a year earlier and had not touched it since,” they said—revealing that Vane had tested the ricin on his own skin.
“It was in a closed test tube in a box high on a shelf in the laundry attic room. Mr. Vane forgot about the concrete-like substance because he never intended to use it for any purpose and certainly not to hurt anyone.”
Vane’s lawyers also defended him making ricin—a deadly toxin—saying he only experimented with it in early 2023. They attached the letter of a PhD chemist, who said “Vane was incapable of producing ricin of sufficient purity or in a form that would be lethal to humans.”
Newest filing in the "Duke" case. Defense admits that Vane made Ricin and then TESTED IT ON HIS OWN SKIN
WTAF Duke? pic.twitter.com/rjBieFL2qi
— VA_Preacher (@Vk_Preacher) November 7, 2024
Vane is set to be sentenced on Wednesday.
While Vane’s lawyers and the DOJ have downplayed his conduct, the Virginia Kekoas militia that he had been a member with viewed him as a dangerous provacatuer—and for good reason.
According to the Kekoas leaders, Vane IV told them he was working for the CIA. While the leaders had reservations about Vane IV, they allowed him to enter one of their group chats because they thought he might have advanced knowledge of world-altering events.
But within two weeks of entering the chat, Vane IV allegedly asked the Kekoas about a “group fund,” as well as about starting his own chapter of the Kekoas. Vane IV was told that no fund exists and members pay their own way. Such a fund would likely be illegal.
In February, Vane IV promoted the idea of collecting Hydrogen Peroxide in a group chat with the Kekoas and other militias. He was then accused of being a provacatuer, with other members calling his posts “fed plot shit for real.”
But that still didn’t stop Vane IV, who then asked the Kekoas whether they had plans if the President were to be assassinated.
To top it off, Vane IV allegedly gave another Kekoas leader named “Sasquatch” a batch of purported Defense Intelligence Agency documents about using homemade explosives.
The Kekoas issued a statement on the matter earlier this year.
“We The Virginia Kekoas are a militia type emergency preparedness group. We do not condone terrorist activity, nor do we condone violence towards any member of the government, former or current,” the group said.
“Furthermore, The Virginia Kekoas would never partner, ally or whatever with any foreign government.”
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/jd_cashless.
