Prosecutors charged a man on Tuesday with selling illegal guns from a Louisiana prison, according to ABC News.
Hayden Espinoza, 24, of Corpus Christi, Texas, was charged with selling illegal firearms and parts inside a Louisiana prison. according to Espinosa told ABC News he was charged with multiple felony counts, including possession of a firearm, a machine gun, a silencer and an imitation firearm, as well as attempted illegal sale of a firearm.
According to ABC News, his alleged activities came to light during the investigation into the racially motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in May 2022, in which gunman Payton Gendron targeted and killed 10 Black people. Authorities traced Espinosa’s illegal dealings to a Telegram channel called “3D Amendment,” which he allegedly managed from prison.
Man charged with trafficking guns and gun parts from prison to extremists https://t.co/UdlyyYELkB pic.twitter.com/m1022V3nj5
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) June 11, 2024
According to the media, the NYPD’s Racial and Ethnic Extremism Unit discovered the channel during its investigation into the Buffalo shooting, but it has not been confirmed whether Espinosa sold guns directly to Gendron. During the course of the investigation, undercover NYPD investigators purchased firearms and parts from Espinosa three times between August and November 2023. (Related article: ‘He would have shot me’: Black man who bought Buffalo shooter a drink speaks out)
The channel was reportedly promoting the sale of firearms and gun mods, as well as spreading racially and ethnically motivated extremism. The channel’s content and discussion was allegedly infused with neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideology and aligned with accelerationism, a belief that advocates violence to destabilize and reshape society according to far-right views.
BUFFALO, NY – MAY 19: Payton Gendron arrives for a hearing at the Erie County Courthouse on May 19, 2022 in Buffalo, New York. Gendron is accused of killing 10 people and wounding three others in a shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo on May 14. The attack is believed to have been motivated by racial hatred. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“Espinosa and other members of the channel advertised the sale of illegal firearms and firearm parts, including silencers, high-capacity magazines, Glock-style handguns and automatic sears,” ABC News reported, according to a statement released by prosecutors on Tuesday. “Several participants purchased firearms and firearm parts from Espinosa and posted about their purchases on his channel.”
At a press conference announcing the charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg noted disturbing links between Espinosa’s activities and extremism.
“The combination of extremism and firearms is extremely dangerous and threatens the safety of New Yorkers,” Bragg said in a statement, according to ABC News.
According to ABC News, Espinosa, who had already served a 33-month sentence for related crimes, was released from a federal prison in Pollock, Louisiana, but was immediately rearrested on an indictment in New York State Supreme Court.
