William Keebler
The Stockton man who pleaded guilty to attempting to bomb a federal Bureau of Land Management building in Arizona has been released on time served after spending two years in jail.
William Keebler, 59, pleaded guilty in April to one count of attempted destruction of federal property by use of an explosive. Keebler’s release was ordered on July 9 in federal court in Salt Lake City, according to the Associated Press.
Judge David Sam cited Keebler’s age and physical ailments, including prostate cancer and heart disease, as reasons for his release, according to the AP.
Keebler was the commander of the Patriots Defense Force, a citizen militia group based out of Stockton, according to a probable cause statement from the FBI. For several months, undercover FBI agents infiltrated his militia and had contact with Keebler both face-to-face and by cell phone.
Keebler organized training exercises that involved shooting targets and receiving instruction on firearms, and military and survival tactics.
Keebler was preparing his militia to participate in anti-government activities, similar to the 2014 armed standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, between the BLM and cattle rancher Cliven Bundy over unpaid grazing fees, according to the FBI. Keebler participated in the standoff at Bunkerville and claimed on Facebook he spent 13 days at the Bundy Ranch.
In February 2016, Keebler met with Patriots Defense Force members to discuss gathering intelligence on potential targets, according to the statement. The group drove by the BLM office near the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City to assess it as a potential site, but Keebler said the office would be a poor target due to the high commercial and homeless activity in the area.
Keebler’s rhetoric escalated about a month later in a March 19 training exercise with the militia when he discussed the government’s harassment of people and that repercussions would start, the FBI said. After determining the group would target BLM facilities in the “middle of nowhere,” Keebler said the militia would sneak in to damage vehicles or buildings.
After an undercover FBI agent showed Keebler a video of a 6-inch pipe bomb, Keebler requested he create more explosive devices and outlined his target — a BLM building at Mount Trumbull in Arizona.
On June 20, 2016, Keebler left Stockton with militia members and the undercover FBI agents for Mount Trumbull. Inert explosives were placed at the door of a BLM cabin and Keebler pressed the remote detonator several times before the members of the militia returned to Utah.
The following day, the FBI arrested Keebler and he remained in federal custody for more than two years.