Texas GOP's Greg Abbott met border militia leader busted days later with explosives

Border militia leader K.C. Massey briefly met and posed for a photo with Texas gubernatorial candidate Greg Abbott four days before he was arrested on federal weapons charges.

The 48-year-old Massey was charged last week with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Court documents released this week show that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized weapons, ammunition, a ballistic helmet, and suspected ammonium nitrate – the same explosive used by Timothy McVeigh in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Agents found an AK-47 with six loaded magazines, a loaded handgun, and fuel along with the ammunition and explosive materials in Massey’s hotel room during the Oct. 20 arrest, reported the San Antonio Express-News.

Massey, who described himself as the commanding officer of the “American Patriot” militia group patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, was convicted of burglary in 1988.

A photo taken Oct. 16 at a Brownsville restaurant shows the militia leader meeting with Greg Abbott, the Texas attorney general running for governor against Democrat Wendy Davis.

Massey is wearing an “Abbott for Governor” sticker on his camouflage fatigues in the photos and shaking hands with the smiling Republican candidate, the newspaper reported.

The militia leader posted the photos on his Facebook page, which has since been deleted but was captured in screenshots by ValleyCentral.com, along with the caption: "Trying to talk to Greg Abbott about the border problems. I gave him my number we will see if he calls."

A spokeswoman for Abbott said the candidate did not know who Massey was when they met during a photo line at a public event, adding that the two exchanged only “pleasantries” during the encounter.

She declined to say whether Abbott supports the border militia group, which also had another member arrested last week on weapons charges.

The court has ordered a mental evaluation of 44-year-old John Foerster, who was arrested Oct. 21 and charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.