DISTURBING

Man Admits to Harassing Black Neighbors, Stockpiling Dozens of Weapons

Police also found Klan and Nazi material in Robert Ivarson’s home.

A man in Massachusetts—previously banned from owning firearms—has pleaded guilty to illegally possessing over 70 weapons and targeting a Black family in his neighborhood. In December 2016, Robert Ivarson was charged with criminal harassment and violating criminal civil rights after littering his Haitian neighbors’ property with banana peels and making them feel uncomfortable in their own home. According to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, Ivarson pursued his Haitian “neighbors because of their race.” Then, in 2017, police conducted a search warrant of Ivarson’s home and dozens of additional charges were thrown at him, including possession of an assault weapon, large capacity weapon, large capacity feeding device, and possession of a rifle and shotgun. Ku Klux Klan and Nazi paraphernalia were also discovered. Ivarson faces seven to nine years in prison and three years of probation.