JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two men who founded a militia group have been convicted of trying to kill federal agents before a planned trip to the Texas-Mexico border to shoot at immigrants crossing illegally and any federal agents who might try to arrest them. stop.

A jury in the U.S. District Court in the Missouri capital of Jefferson City found Jonathan S. O’Dell, 34, of Warshaw, Missouri, and Bryan C. Perry, 39, guilty of more than 30 felonies. years, from Clarksville, Tennessee. each, Chief Federal Attorney for Western Missouri Teresa Moore announced Friday. Thursday’s convictions came after jurors deliberated for more than two hours.

O’Dell’s attorney, Jonathan Truesdale, declined to comment, but Perry’s attorney, Thomas Kirsch, said his client plans to appeal the verdict. Kirsch said Perry was disappointed by the verdict, but said he was grateful for the jurors’ dedication and the opportunity to exercise his “fundamental right” to a jury trial.

“My client has a deep love and passion for our country and the values ​​it stands for and what the Constitution stands for, including his right to a jury trial,” Kirsch said.

A sentencing date for either man has not yet been set. Both face at least 10 years in prison and possibly life.

Perry also pleaded guilty to three charges, including escaping from federal custody. Held for trial at a prison in Rolla, Missouri, he escaped in September 2023 but was captured two days later and about 160 miles (258 kilometers) northwest outside Kansas City after a high speed chase.

The two men formed the Second Amendment Militia and then in the summer and fall of 2022 tried to recruit others to join them, prosecutors said. In September 2022, O’Dell’s home, about 100 miles away, became a meeting place as the two men collected firearms, ammunition, paramilitary equipment and other supplies, according to government evidence.

Prosecutors said Perry posted a TikTok video in September saying their militia group would “go protect this country” and another in early October saying the group would be “on the hunt.” Prosecutors said the two men saw U.S. Border Patrol agents as traitors for allowing the immigrants to cross into Texas.

The day before they planned to leave for Texas, an FBI team using an armored vehicle executed a search warrant on O’Dell’s home, and prosecutors said Perry fired 11 shots at them. O’Dell and his girlfriend turned themselves in, but after they left the house, Perry fought with the agents.

Charges against the two men also included use of a firearm in a violent crime, illegal possession of weapons and damage to federal property. Perry could not own a gun because in 2004, he pleaded guilty in Tennessee to an aggravated robbery charge and served about four years in prison, according to online records.