Authorities in South Georgia arrested two men and seized guns and ammunition after they say the suspects planned to overtake a former federal research facility in Alaska.
Michael Mancil, 30, and James Dryden Jr., 22, each face charges of selling methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, and misdemeanor marijuana possession, according to a report in Douglas Now, which was posted on the official Facebook page of the Coffee County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies investigated after learning the men purchased large amounts of high-powered firearms and ammunition around the county, sheriff’s investigator Michael Vickers said.
A SWAT team was called after deputies thought the men might be planning to leave town, deputies said. The suspects were apprehended Thursday without incident and taken to the Coffee County jail.
Investigators seized four AR-15 rifles, four handguns, a Remington rifle and about 3,000 to 4,000 rounds of ammunition, according to the report.
One suspect told deputies that they planned to overtake the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, according to the report. The facility originally was funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and other entities, and ceased operating in 2014. It has been transferred to the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
The facility has been the subject of many conspiracy theories over the years. Mancil believed the facility was “storing people’s souls,” preventing them from going to heaven, Vickers said.
Coffee County is about 205 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.
