ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Monroe County man accused of having ties to a white supremacist group, has been charged with being a felon-in-possession of firearms, according to a criminal complaint.
31-year-old Stephen Reed Pattison of Hilton, was arrested in Western New York back in October by the United States Marshals Task Force.
Investigators say Pattison was arrested on a parole absconder warrant from a 2016 conviction, where he was arrested for domestic assault in the second degree in Missouri.
According to officials, Pattison aggressively and sometimes violently expressed his disagreement with local protests relating to the deaths of George Floyd and Daniel Prude in a series of Facebook posts.
Meanwhile, authorities say Pattison expressed his support of white supremacist groups and is believed to be associated with a local “Blood and Honour” group in the Rochester, a white supremacist group that is affiliated with a neo-Nazi organization known as “Combat 18.”
Investigators obtained a search warrant for both his cell phone and for his home, where officials uncovered various firearms, as well as his involvement with those white supremacist groups.
If convicted, Pattison faces a maximum of ten years in prison.
