FBI says Tennessee man wanted to 'stir up the hornet's nest' at US-Mexico border by using bombs, firearms

AUSTIN, Texas — A Tennessee man was arrested this week after he allegedly told undercover FBI agents he wanted to "stir up the hornet's nest" at the U.S.-Mexico border by using bombs or by acting as a sniper, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

Following a nearly yearlong investigation, the FBI arrested Paul Faye in Tennessee on Monday and charged him with possession of an unregistered silencer, a felony. He faces a maximum fine of $250,000 and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to the complaint filed this week and obtained by the American-Statesman, part of the USA TODAY Network.

The FBI became aware of Faye, 55, of Cunningham, while investigating a separate case involving another Tennessee man who was indicted last May for conspiring to kill Border Patrol officers. In communications the FBI discovered in that case, Faye had discussed plans as early as October 2022 to join forces with far-right militia members at the border.

"The patriots are going to rise up because we are being invaded," Faye reportedly said. "We are being invaded."

Faye had stockpiled multiple AR-15 rifles, numerous firearms, and "a large amount of ammunition," the FBI found, and he discussed planting explosives at the border on several occasions.

A preliminary and detention hearing for Faye is scheduled for Feb. 12 at the Tennessee Middle District Court in Nashville. His arrest was first reported by Court Watch.

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Arrest follows investigation of Faye, violent felons

The FBI began investigating Faye after obtaining the phone of Missouri man Bryan Perry, who was arrested in October 2022 following a shootout with federal agents.

Perry, who previously had been charged with violent felonies and is a member of the self-styled "2nd American Militia," had conspired with another individual to go "to war with border patrol." Faye had said he wanted to join the two men to "commit acts of violence" at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the criminal complaint.

An undercover FBI agent first contacted Faye in March 2023, the complaint said. Faye believed the federal government was planning to "take on its citizens," according to the complaint, and that it was admitting undocumented immigrants into the country to aid in that effort.

Faye claimed to have contacts with militias in Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, according to the complaint. He said he intended to meet with "Alpha," an individual who could provide explosives.

"He can go under the kitchen sink and come out with napalm," Faye reportedly said of the man.

Faye implied killing Border Patrol officers was part of the plan, the complaint said, when he told the FBI agent that he could obtain a bulletproof vest at the border. "If you can’t find them (beforehand), I’m pretty sure there’s going to be some laying around after a while, ya follow me?” he said, according to the complaint.

In January 2024, Faye showed two undercover agents his "war room" at his home in Cunningham where he kept "numerous firearms," including an AK-47 and several AR-15s, as well as "a large amount of ammunition, radios, and a bulletproof vest," according to the complaint. The only firearm listed as unregistered is an AK-47 silencer.

In a motion filed Monday to request a detention hearing, the U.S. attorney general for the Middle District of Tennessee, Henry C. Leventis, noted that the firearm possession charge "follows the defendant’s planning over the course of eighteen months to travel to the border and commit acts of violence against migrants and federal law enforcement."

The complaint did not list evidence that Faye had traveled to the border, and he was not charged for conspiracy, threats or intent to kill. Faye indicated one of his main goals was "to stir up the hornet’s nest" at the border and generate media attention to draw further support, the complaint said.

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Arrest comes amid US-Mexico border controversy

News of Faye's arrest comes as Texas pushes ahead in a monthslong standoff between the state and the federal government over the record-high number of unauthorized migrant crossings, which Gov. Greg Abbott has formally declared an "invasion" last month.

The governor and Faye repeated inflammatory language Republicans have used to describe the tens of thousands of asylum-seekers and other migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border. Those seeking asylum typically turn themselves in to Border Patrol agents between ports of entry. Other migrants, including many from Mexico, try to sneak in and evade border agents.

More than a dozen Republican governors came to Eagle Pass, a Texas border town of about 29,000, on Sunday to express their support for Abbott, with Arkansas and Tennessee officials pledging to send their state National Guard troops to the border if needed.

Hundreds of people also traveled from Virginia to the Texas-Mexico border last week as part of the peaceful "Take Back our Border" convoy. Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin joined the convoy in Dripping Springs, about 25 miles southwest of Austin, to support the group and rail against the Biden administration's handling of the surge in migrants.

The federal government is "actually sanctioning an invasion," Palin claimed before praising the convoy's members for what she said was a means of "taking our country back."

After Faye's arrest, Democrats, who for years have condemned Republicans' highly charged rhetoric on immigration, renewed their criticism and called on GOP officials to lower the temperature. In a news release, the Texas Democratic Party referenced an admitted white supremacist's massacre of 23 people at a Walmart in El Paso in 2019, which the shooter said was spurred by a desire to dissuade Hispanic people from coming into the U.S.

"Texas Republicans' border rhetoric has already led to bloodshed in border communities, as their dehumanizing language and encouragement of violence continue to activate extremists nationwide," the state Democratic Party wrote in an emailed statement. "MAGA Republicans in power continue to spew racist lies about migrants and delegitimize Border Patrol and the federal government."

Abbott's office did not respond to a Statesman request for comment.

Contributing: Lauren Villagren, USA TODAY; Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean;