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Missouri man sentenced to federal prison for bringing firearms to 2020 Kenosha riots

A Missouri felon caught bringing weapons to Kenosha during of the 2020 riots has been sentenced more than five years in prison in federal court.

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced Friday that United States District Judge JP Stadtmueller sentenced Michael Karmo, 42, of Hartsville, Mo., to 64 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing firearms despite a prior felony conviction.

Karmo, who had entered a guilty plea to the offense earlier this year, also will spend two years on supervised release following his prison term.

According to the court report, during Summer 2020, Karmo became intrigued by unrest taking place in various cities. He indicated that he had been “driving back and forth across America going to where they be rioting the hardest.”

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On Aug. 31, 2020, Karmo and a friend decided to drive from Missouri to the scene of unrest in Kenosha. Before leaving, Karmo took a photo of himself and his friend holding long guns and sent the photo to a woman in Iowa. Karmo also sent the woman a photo of a firearm with a large drum that he called the “game changer.” After Karmo and his friend stopped to see the woman in Iowa, she became concerned and called the police.

FBI agents later arrested Karmo and his friend in Pleasant Prairie. At the time, Karmo and his friend were in possession of an AR-15 assault rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun, two 9mm handguns, 67 rounds of 9mm ammunition, 131 shotgun shells, what appeared to be a homemade silencer, multiple high- capacity magazines, a firearm muzzle attachment, a drone, body armor, tactical gear, a dagger, a confederate flag, and other items.

Court filings indicate that Karmo’s phone contained videos in which Karmo: (1) detailed the firearms he had brought to Kenosha; (2) talked about being on the streets “when the thugs come out”; (3) stated that he would be ready to act if the police and National Guard were not “handling business”; (4) referred to protestors as “a bunch of victims”; and (5) indicated a desire to “lay out” a protestor chanting “Justice for Jacob Blake.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Kenosha Police Department, the Village of Pleasant Prairie Police Department, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office, the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office , and the Waverly (Iowa) Police Department.

It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Richard G. Frohling and Margaret B. Honrath.

Police officers in riot gear move out from the Kenosha County Courthouse toward protesters gathered at Civic Center Park on Tuesday night, Aug. 25, 2020. A curfew was among the tools used to clear the parks.

IN PHOTOS: Stunning scenes of 2020 riot damage in Kenosha

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


SEAN KRAJACIC, KENOSHA NEWS


DAMAGE AERIAL


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC


DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC


DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC


DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown on Aug. 24 included this strip of businesses on 22nd Avenue, which included La Estrella Supermarket, which was the only market in the Uptown area. Grace Welcome Center, manned by volunteers, is striving to fill the need.


SEAN KRAJACIC, KENOSHA NEWS

DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

DAMAGE AERIAL

Damage done by fire in Uptown.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

DAMAGE AERIAL

The site of the Department of Corrections on 60th Street and 13th Avenue. The county plan calls for the facility to be rebuilt at the same site.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

DAMAGE AERIAL

The site of the Department of Corrections on 60th Street and 13th Avenue.


KENOSHA NEWS PHOTO BY SEAN KRAJACIC

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