When Isaac Loftus, 27, was arrested near a South Los Angeles high school, he was wearing tactical gear, carrying multiple knives and heavy-duty zip ties, and carrying a loaded ghost gun, which he had allegedly pointed at passing vehicles. over there. .
But it was what police found after arresting Loftus on November 22, 2022 that ultimately landed him in prison. In a house he rented in Pasadena and in a stolen car that crashed near the high school, law enforcement officers recovered an arsenal of more illegal weapons and ammunition, along with silencers and dozens of 3D-printed devices capable of converting firearms. common in fully automatic machine guns.
Loftus was sentenced Friday to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to illegal possession of machine guns. Loftus has been jailed since his arrest and appeared in court wearing a white coat and shackles, which Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered removed during the hearing.
Prosecutors said that when Loftus was arrested near Thomas Jefferson High School, he was carrying a holster that had markings associated with the “boogaloos,” an extremist anti-government movement seeking a second civil war in the United States. At his home, detectives found more boogaloo iconography and items associated with extremism: Hawaiian-style shirts and several patches with symbols and slogans, including “Three Percent” and “Liberty or Death.”
There is no indication that Loftus planned a school shooting, but court records show there were obvious warning signs about his behavior.
Loftus’ defense attorney Lillian Chu and Assistant U.S. Atty. Kathrynne Nicole Seiden told the judge that Loftus has a long history of mental health problems, which prevented him from legally possessing guns. Both declined to comment on the case after the hearing.
Chu argued that Loftus was experiencing paranoid delusions before his arrest. According to a recent diagnosis by a psychiatrist named in court, Loftus is schizophrenic.
Seiden, the prosecutor, noted that Loftus had had a regular job and was a “good tenant,” indicating that he was aware of his actions and their consequences.
On the day of his arrest, Loftus appeared to have been in a fight. He had fresh injuries to his knuckles and hands, according to court records. When LAPD officers approached him, he attempted to walk away and jumped over a fence. When asked to identify himself, he said he was “Yahweh” (God in Hebrew) and that he was “treated like s**t by humanity,” according to court documents.
Police found a set of car keys on Loftus and he said they belonged to a vehicle he had taken from a dealership and claimed to be his property. The car, a Honda Clarity, was found crashed and abandoned five blocks away. Loftus told authorities that he believed agents were chasing him for thirty days over hundreds of miles.
Loftus told LAPD officers they would be “dead” if they continued questioning him. After he was taken to jail, Loftus commented that “the day of trial has been delayed.”
Loftus’ aunt, who was also his adoptive mother, told authorities she knew he was not allowed to own firearms because of his mental health issues. According to court records, he was detained several times in hospitals or mental health facilities for evaluation or treatment.
However, he could still purchase gun parts online, prosecutors said, citing evidence that he had used an email address that included the words “death before dishonor” when making the purchases.
Loftus’ aunt also said he had a 3D printer and court records say he had downloaded files to print gun parts. These home-assembled weapons are known as “ghost guns” because they do not have serial numbers, making them difficult for authorities to track.
Court records show that Loftus had printed at least 55 devices that convert Glock pistols into hand-held machine guns, and also had three dozen “automatic locks,” which allow a common semi-automatic rifle like the AR-15 to fire like a machine gun. Loftus also had an illegal short-barreled rifle that had no serial number, along with high-capacity magazines and other gun accessories.
Court documents revealed that a family member told authorities that Loftus had delved into conspiracy theories and had a history of drug use and paranoid, unpredictable behavior.
Loftus said in a statement to the court Friday that he wanted mental health treatment and had asked the prison warden and other officials for medication and to be placed in a mental health unit, which he said were not provided.
Loftus said he experienced a “full-blown schizophrenic episode” that caused him to leave “a life he had painstakingly built.”
After completing his prison sentence, Loftus will be subject to three years of supervised release, during which he will not be allowed to interact or associate with affiliates of the boogaloo and Three Percenters groups.
Loftus initially faced five federal charges of illegal possession of firearms and silencers, but prosecutors agreed to drop the other charges in a plea deal signed last August.
