Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung has sentenced Alexander Lightner (27, Venice) to four years and three months in federal prison for possessing an unregistered firearm. Lightner pleaded guilty on March 11, 2025.
According to court records, Lightner is a member of the Terrorgram Collective—an online organization that promotes the belief that the white race is superior, and that violence and terrorism are necessary to ignite a race war and accelerate the collapse of the government and the rise of a white ethnostate. Inside an exclusive Terrorgram chat, on December 29, 2023, Lightner made several threatening posts conveying his intent to commit violent acts motivated by far-right extremist ideology, including “2024 there shall be saints,” and “Highscore shall be defeated.” The term “saints” refers to a trend within white supremacist online circles where individuals who have committed severe acts of violence motivated by hate are venerated as saints. The phrase “Highscore shall be defeated” refers to a future attack by a white supremacist that will generate a number of casualties surpassing that of previous attacks.
Less than a week later, federal agents executed a search warrant at Lightner’s residence in Venice, Florida where they found a firearm silencer, several firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and a copy of Mein Kampf. Agents also found extremist literature with detailed descriptions of mass shooting events and praising historical white supremacist mass murders.
When Lightner was interviewed by law enforcement, he admitted that the firearm silencer was his and he had made it himself. He also confessed to making the threatening Telegram posts.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, with valuable assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Sarasota Police Department, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lindsey Schmidt.