Daniel Franey, the man who shared information with an undercover agent that he had affiliations with the Islamic State, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of unlawful possession of a firearm on Monday, February 29 in federal court in Tacoma.
Franey was indicted on two counts of unlawful possession of machine gun and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. An undercover federal agent that was working with a terrorism task force purportedly contacted Franey last summer, posing as a firearms trafficker.
The government has ruled that Franey cannot be in possession of firearms due to a protection order obtained by a woman in Illinois several years ago. The list of guns the man was in possession of included two Glock pistols, and AK-47 and an AR-15 while he would make trips to purchase firearms from the undercover agent. The investigation on Franey started when witnesses told the police they were concerned about his words of Islamic State.
Franey allegedly told a witness that he wanted to travel to Afghanistan for the purpose of killing American Soldiers and all non-Muslim Americans, even going so far as to boast his support for the Islamic States of Iraq as well as the Levant, citing that he wanted to "joint the fight." Franey was arrested at his home in small-town Montesano early in February. When Franey appeared in court, the man faced U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen L. Strombom at 1:30pm, but did not stand for the judge as she entered.
The criminal complaint alleges that Franey went on five trips with the undercover agent. Franey believed he was acting as a lookout during the trips, and made clear that he wished to possess a firearm, while also acknowledging that is was illegal.