Man With 3D-Printed Rifle, Hit List of Lawmakers Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison
SCARY GOOD TECH
Joshua Roberts/Reuters
A Texas man was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday after the authorities caught him with a partially 3D-printed rifle and a hit list of lawmakers, according to federal prosecutors. Eric Gerard McGinnis had already been under a court order that prohibited him from possessing a firearm after he was discovered to have partially printed an AR-15-style rifle in July 2017, according to a statement from the United States Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said that police arrested McGinnis after hearing shots he had apparently fired in a wooded area just outside of Dallas. They later discovered a list in his possession labeled “9/11/2001 list of American Terrorists,” which included the home addresses of “several federal lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican,” prosecutors said. “When he realized he couldn’t legally purchase a firearm, Eric McGinnis circumvented our gun laws by 3-D printing his weapon, eliminating the need for a background check,” U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox said in a statement. “This case should send a message to prohibited persons contemplating acquiring guns by any method.”