Neo-Nazis sold gun parts to extremists online while in prison using contraband phones, DA Bragg says

A man “motivated by neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies” has been indicted for allegedly selling guns and gun parts while behind bars in federal custody, officials said Tuesday. New York authorities.

Hayden Espinosa, 24, was released from a federal prison in Louisiana on June 4 when he was immediately arrested by the Grant Parish Sheriff’s Office on charges in New York, the Manhattan district attorney announced, Alvin Bragg.

Espinosa had access to a contraband cellphone that allowed him to use a Telegram channel, called “3D Amendment,” to sell “illegal firearms and parts,” prosecutors said. An undercover NYPD officer was among Espinosa’s clients, Bragg said.

Members of the Espinosa channel “were motivated by neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies,” according to prosecutors. Members of the channel engage in “ethnically motivated extremism,” which is a “combination of racist, anti-Semitic, xenophobic, misogynistic and homophobic ideologies,” prosecutors said.

“The combination of extremism and guns is incredibly dangerous and threatens the safety of many New Yorkers,” Bragg said in a statement.

This same Telegram channel was previously used by the racist shooter who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo grocery store in 2022, officials said.

“There is a deep digital footprint of white supremacy and Nazi ideology online. Today’s indictment covers multiple states, including Ohio, Louisiana and Texas,” NYPD Counterterrorism Chief Rebecca Weiner told reporters Tuesday.

The suspect was still in Louisiana Tuesday, awaiting extradition to New York for his scheduled June 24 arraignment, officials said.

It was not immediately clear whether Espinosa had hired or been assigned a criminal defense attorney to speak on his behalf.

Prior to this arrest, Espinosa was serving a 33-month federal sentence in Pollock, Louisiana, for illegal possession of weapons and manufacturing 3D printed firearm parts.

He is now charged with four counts of alleged illegal transportation of firearms and one count of attempted illegal sale of firearms.