RICHLAND, Wash.- A Kennewick man has been sentenced to a year in prison for bomb making and conspiracy to attack law enforcement as a member of the “Verified Bois” extremist group in 2021.
Daniel James Anderson,28, was sentenced in District Court in Richland on August 18. The prosecution had recommended a sentence of three years and a day on August 10, according to court documents.
Anderson was arrested in 2021 after a months-long investigation by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies into the “Verified Bois” and his bomb making efforts.
In March of 2021 a confidential source informed an FBI Agent in Richland that Anderson had illegally modified an AR-style pistol by enlarging the barrel. The source was a member of the “Verified Bois” who contacted the FBI over concerns about the group’s extremist ideology.
According to court documents recorded audio and video between the source and Anderson confirmed that Anderson was a member of the “Verified Bois,” a group of about 30 members willing to use force against law enforcement in support of extremist ideology.
Probable cause documents detail the investigation into Anderson’s activities as a member of the “Verified Bois” and his bomb-making efforts.
April 2021: According to the confidential source Anderson intercepted Kennewick Police radio communications regarding a Police response at an apartment near Anderson’s.
Anderson reportedly armed himself with weapons and body armor in case the KPD came to his apartment according to court documents.
June 2021: Anderson was recorded on the phone speaking with the FBI’s source about his plan to send money to the leader of the “Verified Bois” for fireworks that could be used to make explosive devices.
According to court document the FBI equipped the source with audio and video equipment and recorded Anderson receiving the fireworks, which he planned to use to make booby traps, flashbang grenades and a bomb out of a Coke can and ball bearings.
July 2021: Anderson tells the confidential source that he designed small, portable explosives that could be carried in a backpack and on his motorcycle.
August 2021: Anderson discussed his explosives and how he tested them on social media.
September 2021: The “Verified Bois” held a training in Ellensburg on September 18, where Anderson was recorded on audio and video speaking with other members about his bomb making efforts according to court documents.
October 2021: The confidential source recorded a meeting at Anderson’s home where he was shown the explosives that Anderson had constructed.
A search warrant was served at Anderson’s home on December 16, 2021 during which Anderson waived his Miranda Rights according to court documents and admitted to making explosives and showed investigators diagrams of the homemade explosive devices.
Anderson’s defense argued for probation in the case, alleging that his actions were the result of loneliness and isolation due to the COVID pandemic, as well as mental health issues according to court documents.
Anderson will spend one year and a day in prison and faces an additional three years of supervised release after his sentence according to sentencing documents.
