Nearly 6½ years in prison for militia sympathizer who spoke of coup, had arsenal in Anoka home

A Twin Cities man described by prosecutors as an antigovernment militia sympathizer with a desire to kill Black activists and liberals has been sentenced to nearly 6½ years in prison.

Darrian M. Nguyen, 50, of Anoka received his sentence in U.S. District Court in St. Paul last week after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and illegal possession of a machine gun.

The plea Nguyen signed included him admitting that he "discussed an interest in a revolution or coup d'état."

Ahead of sentencing, the prosecution argued in a filing for Nguyen to receive a nine-year prison term.

"His possession of illegal firearms and devices capable of converting his readily accessible collection of firearms into fully automatic weapons, combined with his drug trafficking activity and extremist ideology, paints a potentially deadly picture," the filing read. "The fact that he discussed obtaining fully automatic weapons in conjunction with the possibility of a coup d'état serves to illuminate the danger."

Nguyen's defense countered in a submission to the court for a five-year prison sentence. Attorney Andrew Irlbeck pointed to his client's lack of a felony record along with struggles with a psychological disorder and drug addiction.

"Mr. Nguyen was never a terrorist," Irlbeck insisted. "Nor did he ever join a militia nor attend a rally, and he never made any plans to harm anyone."

Prosecutors said in their criminal complaint that a paid confidential source described Nguyen as "harboring anti-government Three Percenter ideology and desiring to be part of [that] militia group."

The source added that Nguyen had a Three Percenters flag in his garage and discussed a desire to kill liberals by blowing them up or doing the same to members of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Three Percenters took form in 2008, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They argue that the U.S. government is actively working to infringe on Americans' constitutional rights and liberties. Three Percenters engage in paramilitary training and organizing toward overthrowing the government, the law center's description noted.

According to court documents and a law enforcement affidavit filed in Nguyen's case:

In April 2022, the source told the FBI that Nguyen kept rifles, shotguns, handguns, a grenade launcher and pipe bombs in his home.

Nguyen's text with the video included: "It's time, the hour has come." The source asked Nguyen what he meant by that, and he replied, "We should put [sic] a revolution."

The affidavit further alleged that Nguyen was manufacturing and trafficking methamphetamine from his home. In August, the source bought meth from Nguyen for $300.

In an attempt to collect a debt of $9,000, two guns and drugs, Nguyen asked the source to supply him with a short-barreled rifle equipped with an auto sear. This is a device that turns a gun into an automatic weapon.