Federal law enforcement officials have arrested a 21-year-old Brentwood man who allegedly sought to build a machine gun using an illegal device made with a 3D printer and was looking to target Jews.
It was the second arrest in six months for Noah Kanaye Bauer, who was initially investigated by Brentwood police officers on Sept. 6, 2024, after they responded to a call about someone with a gun at a grocery store. Police said they arrested Bauer with a “3D printed Glock style firearm” and later searched his home, where they reported finding computer content on mass shootings and antisemitic conspiracy theories.
According to court documents, Bauer told police he had been radicalized online.
Federal authorities picked up the case after drawing the attention of the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Squad, which investigates “activities of U.S. citizens motivated by extremist ideological beliefs,” according to a government affidavit, leading to Bauer’s March 11 arrest and detainment.
The federal case cites numerous findings by the Brentwood police, who in their search of Bauer’s home also discovered a 3D printer, 3D-printed pistol frames and a 3D-printed machine gun conversion device capable of transforming a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic one, according to a March 10 FBI complaint.
Because conversion devices are classified as machine guns under federal law, Bauer has been charged with a section 922 violation of the federal penal code (transfer or possession of a machine gun), the complaint said.
“A search of his home revealed that he has been researching mass shootings and attempting to find locations with significant Jewish populations,” according to federal prosecutors representing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.
Officers in Brentwood, a city of about 60,000 in eastern Contra Costa County, also said they found online search queries on how to construct a “full auto assault shotgun,” as well as information on known mass shooters. The police said Bauer appeared to be a member of several channels on the encrypted messaging app Telegram that circulated antisemitic content.
“Some of the channels to which Bauer was subscribed published known antisemitic and white supremacist content,” according to government prosecutors, “including Holocaust denial, ‘race purity’ arguments, and ‘great replacement’ conspiracy theories… He told the police that his beliefs about Jews arose while watching YouTube.”
A screenshot captured by Brentwood officers and included in court filings shows a repost from the account of Nick Fuentes, a popular white supremacist organizer and content creator who famously shared a meal with President Donald Trump in 2022.
The screenshot also shows a repost from a now-inactive X account that includes a quote from Nazi Col. Otto Remer, who falsely denied that the regime used Zyklon B gas to murder Jews in concentration camps. Text accompanying the quote said “it literally never happened.”
Further searches of Bauer’s internet history revealed ChatGPT entries including “are there any majority Jewish congressional districts?” and “where do most hasidic Jews live?” prosecutors said.
Bauer’s X (formerly Twitter) account, in which he identifies as a “white advocate” and “pro white” under the handle @beastmode6600, was still public as of publication.
Bauer told Brentwood police he believes the Jews “are kind of ruining the country” and “control both political parties,” according to federal prosecutors.
He remains jailed without bail in the West County Detention Facility in Richmond, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.
Oren Segal, the Anti-Defamation League’s national vice president for counterterrorism and intelligence, told J. that in similar cases of extremism, whether online or carried out in an attack, the lines between anti-Jewish bias and other forms of bigotry become blurred.
“Often one’s antisemitism leads them to different targets, or their hatred of others sometimes leads them to targeting Jews,” Segal told J. “This type of antisemitism enables those who may be animated to violence to have a wide range of targets, because in their view, the Jews control everything. Antisemitism, in this case, isn’t just a risk for the Jewish community. It’s a risk for everyone because of the conspiracies that motivate them.”
Rafael Brinner, senior director of community security for the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund, sent an email statement applauding “the efforts of law enforcement, the FBI, and prosecutors in taking proactive steps to mitigate any threat Bauer posed.”
“This case is emblematic of the armed, self-indoctrinated individuals that pose the greatest threat of targeted violence in the U.S.,” Brinner wrote.
Bauer’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 9, U.S. Attorney’s Office public information officer Michelle Lo confirmed. No trial date has been set.
If convicted, Bauer faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.