CBRNE event in United States of America on Fri 1st August 2025

Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on August 1, 2025, United States District Judge Brett Ludwig sentenced James Morgan (formerly known as Karactus Blome) to 29 months in prison. Morgan had pled guilty to one count of possession of chemical weapon precursors—chemicals that combine to create chlorine and chlorine gas—not intended for peaceful purposes, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 229(a).

According to court documents, on December 21, 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant at Morgan’s storage unit and found the precursor chemicals. Morgan had studied chemistry at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater and had described himself as a weapon designer who did not need a conventional weapon. In a video, Morgan displayed the chemicals and said they were for making a lot of chlorine very quickly. In messages in 2022, he said that what he had was “scary,” and that the chemicals react to produce a lot of chlorine gas, which can be “effective if your enemy is not ready for it.” He sent links for purchasing the chemicals and discussed the amounts needed to make a lot of chlorine gas quickly. In messages in 2023, Morgan discussed a plan to defeat the government, if it came for his guns, by producing a large amount of chlorine that he claimed could be used against approximately twenty government agents. The FBI Laboratory determined that the chemicals Morgan possessed could produce a large amount of chlorine that could result in rapid, serious health effects, including death.

In announcing the sentence, Judge Ludwig focused on the incredibly dangerous nature of chlorine gas and the defendant’s possession of the chemicals knowing that he could combine them to harm law enforcement. Judge Ludwig also discussed the need to provide deterrence to others who might try to do the same.

“The defendant’s conduct posed a serious risk to others and the community as a whole,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Frohling. “This individual spent substantial time discussing and constructing weapons and expressing opposition to law enforcement and individuals whose race, ethnic origin, or backgrounds differed from his. I commend the hard work and collaboration of everyone involved in seeking to hold him accountable for his criminal activity.”

“Mr. Morgan obtained commercially available chemicals with an intent to manufacture chemical weapons which could have had a devastating impact to citizens and law enforcement officers in Wisconsin,” said FBI Milwaukee Special Agent in Charge Michael Hensle.  “Morgan is already serving a two-year sentence for possessing destructive devices. The Milwaukee Field Office of the FBI will continue to work aggressively with our partners to prevent the acquisition and use of weapons of mass destruction."

The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney John Scully prosecuted, with assistance from Trial Attorney Justin Sher of the National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section.