Man sold guns from prison using ‘white supremacist’ Telegram chat: DA
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A man accused of selling guns and gun parts while in federal prison to potential buyers “motivated by Neo-Nazi and white supremacist ideologies” was indicted, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
Hayden Espinosa, of Texas, was serving a 33-month sentence in federal prison while selling illegal firearm and gun parts online, according to prosecutors.
Using cell phones smuggled into prison, Espinosa advertised and sold the materials through a Telegram channel that was “a hub for racially and ethnically motivated extremism,” Bragg said. His YouTube channel displayed “white supremacist, neo-Nazi, and anti-government extremist ideologies,” according to Bragg’s office.
A 2022 mass shooting at a Tops Markets location in Buffalo led investigators to Espinosa. One of the Discord channels in Espinosa’s investigation was frequented by the accused Buffalo shooter, prosecutors said.
“We see this sad and tragic combination far too often, the intersection of gun violence and gun trafficking and hate and extremism,” Bragg said. “It is very very disturbing.”
Espinosa allegedly tried to sell the guns to an undercover NYPD officer and then shipped the materials to Manhattan, connecting the case to Bragg’s district, according to the district attorney’s office. In 2023, Espinosa allegedly sold a 3D-printed handgun and AR-style rifle to an undercover officer, then attempted to sell another handgun to the officer. Later, Espinosa sold the undercover officer two firearm silencer, according to Bragg.
“[It] was astounding when we first came across the openness with which this illegal conduct was being engaged in online, hidden by the encrypted platforms, which give folks a false sense of security,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Rebecca Weiner.
Espinosa is expected to be extradited and arraigned in New York later in June. He faces firearm transportation and criminal firearm sale charges.
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