Thomas Develin was convicted for producing “ghost guns,” using a 3D printer to illegally convert semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic ones.
By Algemeiner Staff
A former member of the Ohio National Guard has been jailed by a court in Columbus for nearly six years after he was found guilty of producing illegal guns and making antisemitic threats online.
Columbus resident Thomas Develin, 25, was imprisoned for five years and eleven months in two separate cases.
In the first case, Develin was convicted for producing “ghost guns”, using a 3D printer to illegally convert semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic ones.
Federal agents discovered night vision goggles, ballistic plates, a ballistic helmet, first aid equipment, and a large quantity of ammunition including several loaded magazines in Develin’s vehicle on March 31, 2022, the day he was arrested.
The second conviction concerned the antisemitic threats which Develin, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, made online.
While working as a private security guard at the Columbus Torah Academy, Develin posted inflammatory threats on social media, including “I’m at a Jewish school and about to make it everyone’s problem,” and “The playground is about to turn into a self-defense situation.”
In another post, Develin said that he “wanted to shoot parents coming to pick up their children.”
In other posts, he suggested that he would join forces with any gunman who attacked the school and called for violence against Black people and women.
In a letter to US District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison, Develin — who pled guilty last October — said that he had become depressed after returning from Afghanistan and was drinking heavily.
He said that his online comments had been made during conversations with friends that “spiraled out of control into an undeclared contest to see who could come up with the darkest or ugliest ideas.”
“I never intended to put fear into the community,” Develin wrote. “Now that our discussions have been made public, I realize the shock, fright, and pain it has caused others.”
However, in her remarks as she passed sentence, Morrison concluded that Develin had not shown genuine remorse.
Saying that Develin had downplayed his messages as “private,” “funny,” and how he “dealt with stress,” the judge continued: “(I have heard) nothing indicating that it wasn’t Mr. Develin’s true beliefs. It’s very very concerning.”