The government presented evidence that Duncan shared the information with a handful of other young, white men who actively plotted an attack on the power grid that they hoped would plunge the country into chaos and provide cover for an assassination campaign. All of it, the government alleged, was for the purpose of launching a race war that would ultimately allow the formation of a white ethno-state.
But when Duncan stood in a federal courtroom in Wilmington dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit and horn-rimmed glasses on Monday, the seven-year prison sentence meted out to him by a judge was for a firearms violation.
“Ultimately, this was a negotiation between the government and the defendant to plead to a firearms charge,” Judge Richard E. Myers II said. “It has been disputed the entire time that the defendant planned to engage in terrorism.”
Myers noted that the government has maintained its position that Duncan and his codefendants intended to carry out an attack on the power grid, but allowed him to plead to the lesser charge.
“Whether this was domestic terrorism, as opposed to just a separatist movement that wants to be prepared should everything go dark, has been disputed from the very beginning,” Myers added.
Duncan’s lawyer, Raymond Tarlton, had argued that his client was at most involved with a militia that engaged in constitutionally protected activities, notwithstanding the fact that they used unregistered firearms for live-fire practice.
But Gabriel Diaz, a federal prosecutor assigned to North Carolina’s Eastern District, told the court that the defense’s characterization “doesn’t track with the evidence.”
Diaz noted the “massive library” of military tactical manuals found on Duncan's hard drive at the time of his arrest in Boise, Idaho in October 2020. And Diaz told Myers that the incident that prompted the government to initiate arrests was the wife of one of the defendants reporting to the FBI that she overheard Duncan and codefendants Paul Kryscuk and Liam Collins “talking about shutting down the power grid.”
“They were committed to an accelerationist goal to create mass chaos to set the conditions to form a white ethno-state,” Diaz said.
Diaz, one of the prosecutors assigned to the Eastern District, declined to comment to Raw Story after the hearing.
A trial attorney assigned to the Counterterrorism Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Security helped prosecute the case, although ultimately Duncan did not plead guilty to domestic terrorism.
Omar Lopez, director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, specifically described the plot as terrorism in a statement hailing the sentence.
"The NCIS-led investigation has been crucial in dismantling a domestic terrorist cell intent on targeting innocent people and destroying critical infrastructure," he said. "The tireless efforts of NCIS, our dedicated law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorney's Office demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that those who conspire to undermine our national security are thoroughly investigated and held accountable."
Myers noted Duncan’s access to classified materials, adding that they “ended up in the hands of people who didn’t have any business seeing them.” Beyond the initial charges of illegal firearms violations and conspiracy to destroy an energy facility, the government investigated Duncan for possibly mishandling classified materials. Ultimately, the government did not bring additional charges related to the classified materials, and agreed to not disclose the matter to a jury were the case to go to trial.
Raw Story is suing the Navy for access to records referencing the investigation. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, under the command of the Navy, uncovered the alleged plot by Duncan and his codefendants to attack the power grid.
Myers said some of the classified materials found in Duncan’s possession were sensitive, but it remained unclear whether those were obtained through Duncan’s military service or through public sources.
“There was a breach of trust,” Myers said.
Duncan’s seven-year prison sentence, which will be served at FCI Cumberland in Maryland, is less than the maximum amount of 10 years that he could have received under the sentencing guidelines in his plea agreement.
Duncan turned down the opportunity to address the court.
When Myers addressed Duncan from the bench, the judge suggested he viewed the defendant as someone who got caught up in heated emotions as opposed to someone who spent at least two years committed to the ideology of white supremacy. Myers, a native of Jamaica who was appointed to the federal bench by President Donald Trump, holds a reputation for being the most compassionate judge in North Carolina’s Eastern District.
“These were some dark times,” Myers told Duncan, alluding to the summer of 2020 when Duncan’s group stalked Black Lives Matter protesters in Boise. “It was a difficult time in America. People were setting buildings on fire. I know it may be tempting to overreact, but that doesn’t give you the right to acquire illegal guns.”
Duncan’s father declined to comment to Raw Story after his son was led away by U.S. Marshals.
Asked if Duncan expressed any remorse for his involvement with a white supremacist group, his lawyer, Raymond Tarlton, demurred.
“The defense counsel recognized the hateful and deplorable nature of the speech,” he said. “I’ll leave it at that.”
Tarlton told the court that Duncan is interested in personal training, and plans to pursue a career in that field when he gets out of prison.
Duncan’s codefendant Paul Kryscuk, a former porn actor, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to destroy an energy facility and was previously sentenced to six years and six months in prison. Liam Collins, the alleged leader of the neo-Nazi group, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting interstate commerce of unregistered firearms, and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Two other codefendants, Justin Hermanson and Joseph Maurino, each received sentences of one year and three months in prison.
"We have now brought to justice all five defendants involved in a self-described 'modern day SS,' who conspired, prepared, and trained to attack America's power grid in the name of violent white supremacist ideology," Attorney General Merrick Garland said. "The Justice Department is aggressively investigating, disrupting, and prosecuting these kinds of hate-fueled plots that seek to sow violence and chaos and endanger our national security."
This story has been updated to include quotes from Attorney General Merrick Garland and NCIS Director Omar Lopez.
