GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Grand Rapids man, who had been precluded from handling firearms, was sentenced to more than two years in prison for lying to authorities about using an AR-15 at an eastern Michigan gun range.
Mental health concerns led to a Kent County court order that barred 25-year-old Aaron Fein from having firearms.
Read more: Grand Rapids man, who struggles with mental illness, charged with lying to officers about gun use
The engineering graduate was first flagged by task force agents after he came under scrutiny at the U.S.-Canada border.
A search of his belongings turned up copies of plans for assembling a remote-detonated pipe bomb from Al Qaeda's online publications.
A checklist in his notebook indicated he had already acquired most of what he needed. This prompted further search of his belongings and his home.
A search of his phone showed Fein, who is an engineering graduate from the University of Michigan, had been researching mass shootings and bombings.
According to court documents, Michigan State Police bomb squad recovered items consistent with "initial attempts to construct a remote detonation device," during a search of the home where Fein lived with family.
In an interview with Homeland Security Investigations, Fein admitted to posting comments online that he might go "shoot up a school," court records show.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation began monitoring Fein closely as he made several attempts to purchase and use firearms. He was successful in buying a Glock 9mm from a Wyoming gun store, but turned it over to the FBI when they confronted him.
A mental health petition ordered by Kent County Probate Court required Fein not to posses firearms. Even so, he rented an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle and trained with it at an eastern Michigan range in April 2019.
When he was arrested for disobeying the court order, officers say Fein lied about his use of the weapon. Officers say an additional search of his home at the time of the arrest turned up parts for multiple AR-15 rifles in addition to parts for an improvised explosive device.
Fein pleaded guilty in July 2019 to the charge of lying to federal agents, a five-year felony.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney sentenced Fein to 27 months in prison and three years probation, calling him a "significant risk to the public."
Fein has been ordered to receive mental health treatment both while imprisoned and once he is released.
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