Ryan Mackeith Killian, a self-proclaimed racist who communicated with other online extremists, joined the military to practice killing people, according to federal court papers filed by prosecutors. Until a week ago, he served as a rank-and-file soldier in the 82nd Army’s Airborne division.
Now, it seems that Ryan’s military career is beginning to be in legal trouble and is coming over extremism.
As per an Army representative, Ryan, a 21-year-old who had been deployed in North Carolina, was apprehended on August 26, shortly after the military released him due to inappropriate behavior. In the legal documents, federal prosecutors describe Ryan as a prejudiced extremist with fantasies of violence. The primary cause of Ryan’s legal troubles is an inquiry into his security clearance application in 2020, where prosecutors allege that Ryan provided false information regarding his father’s involvement.
According to the criminal complaint, one of Ryan’s Instagram accounts sent a message stating, “I enlist for combat experience so I can become more skilled in eliminating individuals of African descent,” employing a derogatory term targeting Black individuals.
Ryan, a police officer assigned to the Fayetteville Joint Terrorism Task Force, wrote in an affidavit that there have been numerous accounts associated with racially motivated extremism contacting him using various email addresses. One of these accounts is the “Naziace1488” handle on Instagram that he is investigating.
The “Defamation-Anti League” claims that email addresses and screen names are prevalent within the white supremacist movement, while tattoos and graphics are associated with graffiti. The numbers 88 and 14 are commonly used by white supremacist movements as shorthand references to the infamous words “Heil Hitler” and other supremacist speech.
Ryan’s application for a security clearance, which was approved in August 2020, is now causing him legal trouble as he is being accused of providing false information. However, it is the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina that is primarily dealing with the charges, while the issue of rampant racist behavior is secondary.
In his application, Ryan wrote an “optional comment” stating that his biological father, who has a criminal history in California and Washington for theft auto and drug violations, is a convicted felon whom he has not seen in 10 years.
From at least 2019 onwards, Ryan had established a sequence of Instagram profiles through which he had maintained communication with his biological father. Authorities also discovered that Ryan’s biological father had attended his graduation ceremony, contradicting the optional statement which was proven to be false by law enforcement.
Ryan’s biological father was also in contact with numerous racially motivated accounts associated with extremism, as complained.
Ryan is facing his second set of federal criminal charges. In July, after a guard at Fort Bragg detected the scent of alcohol on Ryan when he arrived at the base late at night, military prosecutors accused him of driving under the influence. Allegedly, Ryan had a blood alcohol level of .17, which is more than twice the legal limit.
Legal experts say that providing false information on a security clearance application is a rare and aggressive move by the Department of Justice, and Ryan is charged with making false statements.
Zaid, a lawyer who often handles cases related to security clearances and national security employees, informs Rolling Stone that this person truly infuriated someone on a personal level, with the possibility of a different event occurring or the government adopting a more forceful stance against racist white nationalist extremists if they are discovered within the U.S. Government. Zaid describes the accusation against Ryan as “unprecedented.”
Zaid claims, “However, they are not subjected to legal action.” They forfeit their security authorizations and/or are terminated from their positions. “Frequently, I encounter situations where individuals are alleged of providing false information on the document. It is uncommon, according to my knowledge and observations, for someone to be charged exclusively with a 1001 violation [for making false statements], solely based on an SF-86 [security clearance form].” The exceptional nature of this circumstance adds to its intrigue.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina, who chose not to provide a comment. Ryan’s defense attorney did not reply to a reporter’s inquiry.
The Department of Defense, under the administration of President Biden, has sought to investigate extremism within the ranks of the military following revelations about former and current military personnel involved in the January 6 insurrection. Last month, prosecutors in Hawaii charged a former Marine with firearms offenses and asked that he be held in pretrial detention because of his alleged plotting against a Jewish synagogue in New Jersey with the neo-Nazi group “Rapekrieg”.