Former Members of Ohio Militia Group Plead Guilty to Conspiring to Possess Unregistered Explosives

CINCINNATI – Two former members of an Ohio militia group heave pleaded guilty to violating the National Firearms Act by conspiring to possess destructive devices.

Ryan D. King, 37, of Franklin, Ohio and Randy D. Goodman, 53, of Ripley, Ohio, each pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to possess unregistered explosive devices. King and Goodman were indicted by a federal grand jury in February.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Todd Wickerham, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the pleas entered into yesterday afternoon before U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott.

According to court documents, King and Goodman were members of a militia group operating in the Southern District of Ohio. King and Goodman established a small subset of the militia group and referred to it as the “Special Projects Team.” The defendants advocated that this Team construct, use and stockpile explosives including pipe bombs, landmines and remote activated explosive devices.

As part of their pleas, the defendants admitted they conspired to possess destructive devices in violation of the National Firearms Act, specifically, bombs and parts necessary to make pipe bombs.

In January 2019, King and Goodman tested their “crater makers” at Goodman’s home in Ripley, Ohio. They discussed construction and ignition methods in detail. Goodman referenced the Boston Marathon as an example of a remote detonation system that worked.

They discussed which methods would be most lethal, including constructing their explosive devices out of metal pipes instead of PVC.

For example, Goodman asked, “Do we know how they built the pressure cookers for the Boston bombers…we are talking the same concept…”

King added, “If you really want explosions you would bury these in the driveway, so they go up and out. We can build land mines, I’ve already built them before, you know that.”

Conspiring to possess destructive devices is a crime that carries a potential maximum sentence of five years in prison.

This case was investigated by agents with the FBI and is being prosecuted by United States Attorney Glassman and Assistant United States Attorney Sheila G. Lafferty.