- A father-and-son duo from Pennsylvania have been charged with illegal possession of firearms.
- The son hosted a podcast called "Alt-Right Armory" and shared anti-government views, prosecutors said.
- Both men have pleaded not guilty and could face a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The host of an alt-right podcast about firearms was charged alongside his father this week with the unlawful possession of more than a dozen machines guns and silencers, officials said Thursday.
Joseph Paul Berger, 32, and Joseph Raymond Berger, 67, of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, were arrested on multiple gun-related charges, the US attorney's office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a statement.
"This father-and-son duo possessed a small artillery of firearms in their home, including more than a dozen machine guns and silencers. This type of fire-power is incredibly dangerous if in the wrong hands," William S. Walker, acting special agent from Homeland Security, said.
The indictment said the father and son had 13 fully automatic machine guns and 12 firearm silencers, all possessed illegally. Investigators said the guns were purchased as semi-automatic firearms and then modified into unregistered, fully automatic machine guns.
"These weapons are extremely dangerous, which is why there are laws regulating their possession," US Attorney Jennifer Williams said.
Both Bergers have pleaded not guilty on all counts. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The younger Berger, a Navy veteran who currently lives with his parents, hosted a podcast called "Alt-Right Armory" under the name "GlockDoctor1488," according to court documents viewed by Insider. The New York Times reported Berger described the podcast as "the alt-right's favorite firearms-related podcast."
One of the podcast episodes discussed how to use 3D printing to make ghost guns, while in another episode Berger said a "white man with a rifle can be very dangerous to the system indeed if he has the right motivation," prosecutors said.
In another episode he "extolls the values of police murder Eric Frein," who was convicted in the 2014 killing of a Pennsylvania state trooper, according to the documents. Berger and the cohosts also discussed targeting police as well as "legislators, lobbyists and left-wing billionaires" for assassination.
Prosecutors argued Berger, who has no criminal record, was a threat to the community and requested he be detained until trial, citing "his history of anti-government rhetoric."
If convicted, the Bergers could face a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $270,000 fine.