Two brothers residing in New York City, Andrew Hatziagelis, 39, and Angelo Hatziagelis, 51, were accused of accumulating an arsenal of explosive devices and ghost guns in their family residence.
The discovery, made after a rigorous six-month investigation, led to the indictment of the siblings on 130 counts, encompassing various charges such as criminal possession and sale of weapons, as per ABC News.
Queens DA Exposes Brothers' Threatening Arsenal
"Ghost guns" seized in federal law enforcement actions are displayed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) field office in Glendale, California on April 18, 2022. - President Joe Biden recently announceed new measures cracking down on so-called "ghost guns", with an executive order set to increase restrictions on the weapons that can be assembled at home in minutes and are difficult to trace as they lack serial numbers. "It's as simple as going on to the internet, going to a website or a company that sells the firearms components and ordering them and they will be shipped overnight to your front door," says Michael Hoffman, Assistant Special Agent in Charge at the Los Angeles ATF Field Division.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, in a statement released on Monday, disclosed that the brothers were found to possess not only a cache of weapons but also an alarming hit list containing references to police officers, judges, politicians, celebrities, bankers, and others. The list, discovered alongside anarchist propaganda, raised concerns about potential threats to public figures and individuals in positions of authority.
The arsenal was unearthed in the brothers' apartment, which they shared with their mother and another sibling, located opposite a Con Edison power facility at 804 36th Ave. The inventory included six operable ghost guns, body armor, ammunition, smoke bombs, and eight Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). The volatile nature of these homemade explosives prompted the bomb squad to evacuate the building multiple times, highlighting the potential danger posed by the stash.
Neighbor Shaleen Heffernan, residing in the same building, expressed her awareness of the brothers' conspiracy theories but emphasized the escalated nature of the situation. "They just have a huge chip on their shoulder. It has gotten to that point," she commented, revealing the discomfort experienced by neighbors due to the brothers' extreme beliefs.
District Attorney Katz, cautious about divulging too many details, mentioned that neither brother was previously on law enforcement's radar, with one having a misdemeanor conviction dating back to 1994. When questioned about the investigation's initiation, Katz pointed to online activities and the procurement of weapon components as key elements, according to CBS News.
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Detained Brothers' Homemade Weapons
The potential scale of catastrophe became apparent as officials highlighted the volume of homemade weapons discovered, capable of causing significant damage. Inspector Courtney Nilan of the NYPD Intelligence Division remarked, "One wrong mix of chemicals or one wrong wire could have taken that whole building down."
The brothers, now detained, are set to appear in court on February 15, facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted. Katz stressed that, at this point, there is no indication that the Con Edison power facility was a target, and the investigation, involving Homeland Security and state police, remains ongoing.
The siblings' extreme ideologies, characterized as a blend of far-left and far-right anti-government sentiments, were not linked to any known networks. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism Rebecca Weiner highlighted the complexity of such cases, describing them as a "lone actor threat" that defies easy categorization.
As authorities investigate the brothers' motivations, the community is coming to terms with the fact that the indictment and arrests may have prevented a serious threat. The silence surrounding the brothers' intentions and the diverse range of their ideological influences indicate the difficulties law enforcement encounters when dealing with emerging threats that do not fit into traditional categories, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.
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