A Tennessee man was arrested Monday after telling undercover federal agents that the U.S. was “being invaded” by illegal immigrants and he was planning to travel to the southern border with a weapons and explosives, NBC reports.
After an extensive investigation for over a year, FBI arrested Paul Faye on Monday, charging him with selling an unregistered firearm suppressor, also known as a silencer, according to a criminal complaint. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted.
He will appear in federal court Monday for a detention hearing.
The FBI began an investigation on Faye a year. In December 2023, Faye discussed with an undercover agent he was “coordinating with militia groups from Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee,” according to the complaint. Faye also added that his hope was “to stir up the hornet’s nest” at the border so that others will come in to provide further support.
“What I hope happens. Is called a domino effect. I want, I want the news to find out about it,” Faye said, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint went on to say Faye said on a recorded phone call with an undercover employee in January that “The patriots are going to rise up because we are being invaded. We are being invaded.”
On Jan. 11, Faye allegedly sold an undercover FBI employee an AK-47 rifle suppressor for $100 that was not registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Firearm Registration and Transfer Record, the complaint says. Also that day, Faye showed two undercover agents his “war room” at his home.
