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Affidavit: Man accused of 'hunting guides' for Jews and Muslims wanted 'white race to win at life'

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Posted at 5:03 PM, Aug 08, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-08 19:03:33-04

DENVER – A Boulder man arrested on a federal child pornography charge and accused of posting "hunting guides" for Jews, Muslims and refugees told FBI agents in January that he "wanted the white race to win at life," according to an affidavit in support of a search warrant that was unsealed Thursday.

Wesley David Gilreath, 29, also had information about Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the Christchurch, New Zealand mosque shooting on his phone, the affidavit said.

Gilreath is not currently charged with any crimes related to the guides, but federal authorities are still investigating the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak this week ordered Gilreath to be held in federal custody on the child pornography charge, deeming him a danger to the community, according to Varholak's detention order filed Wednesday.

Gilreath had tried to buy a gun in May but his background check flagged his 2016 commitment to a mental institution and his gun purchase was denied, the search warrant affidavit said.

Gilreath was charged with child pornography after an RTD employee found his phone on a bus in June and investigators later found hundreds of images on the device, a criminal complaint said.

The new details revealed in the affidavit Thursday centered on Gilreath's interview with the FBI in January, when the agency was tipped off that a "Montana Hunting Guide" was posted online.

Gilreath confirmed that he posted the guide, which listed information about synagogues, mosques, refugee centers and the Bureau of Land Management, according to the affidavit. He told agents the he did not label himself a "white supremacist," but he "wanted the white race to win at life" by having money and property "while not allowing others to take those resources."

Gilreath explained to the agents that he listed the locations because "refugees are in the United States illegally and are taking resources, many people do not like Muslims, the Bureau of Land Management takes land from people and the Bundy's won their court case, and Jews are responsible for the refugee crisis," the affidavit said.

The mention of "Bundy's" was an apparent reference to the Bundy ranching family and their dispute with the Bureau of Land Management in Oregon and Nevada. Members of the Bundy family were acquitted or had their charges dropped in those cases.

Gilreath was not charged after the January interview with the FBI.

After the child pornography investigation began this summer, agents searched Gilreath's phone and found "actual footage" of the mass shooting at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand in March, which killed 51 people, the affidavit said.

The investigators also found a note on Gilreath's phone about McVeigh, with the title: "Tim's favorite reading," the affidavit said.

The note also included mentions of "Homemade C-4" and "Improvised munitions," according to the affidavit.

Investigators also combed through Gilreath's browser history on his phone.

According to the affidavit, he searched for "best small 380 pistol" and visited Wikipedia pages about "Black Death Jewish persecutions" and "Well poisoning"; a site about mosque and synagogue locations in the United States, Boulder and the Denver metro area; and YouTube videos titled "Timothy McVeigh," "Israel Did 911" and "jewish conspiracy exposed."

In a statement Thursday, U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn said Gilreath's arrest on the child pornography charge "demonstrates that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our federal and state law enforcement partners will use every available law enforcement tool not just to prosecute federal crimes, but also to disrupt and prevent potential hate crimes."

Gilreath's next court date has not been set, according to court documents. His attorney, Laura Suelau, has not responded to a request for comment.