MACON, Ga. (AP) – A former Georgia MP pleaded guilty to possessing unregistered firearms, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Cody Richard Griggers, 28, of Montrose, Georgia, pleaded guilty Monday to possessing a U.S. District Judge Tilman Self, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said in a press release.
“This former police officer knew he was breaking the law when he decided to own a cache of unregistered weapons, silencers and a machine gun to keep many of them in his official vehicle. In connection with his violent, racially motivated extreme statements, the defendant has lost the privilege to wear the blue permanently, “said acting US attorney Peter D. Leary.
Griggers, who was arrested at a pre-trial hearing and remains in custody, faces a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of $ 250,000. The sentencing is scheduled for July 6th.
During a California investigation into a man making violent political statements on social media, FBI agents uncovered group text with Griggers who worked for the Wilkinson County’s sheriff’s office for a little over a year, said Richard Chatman, Wilkinson sheriff County. He was released last November.
In the group text, Griggers – who is white – said he produced and acquired illegal firearms, explosives and oppressors. He also expressed positions consistent with racially motivated violent extremism, including the use of racial slurs, slurs against homosexuals, and frequent positive references to the Nazis’ Holocaust, the U.S. law firm said.
On November 19, agents ransacked Grigg’s house and patrol car. According to the authorities, officials found several firearms in his patrol car, including a machine gun with a deleted serial number. The defendant was not given the machine gun and was not allowed to have the weapon in his police car, the authorities said.
In total, authorities said they had found 11 illegal firearms in his home, including an unregistered short-barreled shotgun.
