Man With Neo-Nazi Links Arrested With Ghost Gun and Wearing Body Armor

A man connected to neo-Nazi networks was arrested during what appears to be a routine traffic stop wearing a bulletproof vest and with a loaded “ghost gun.” 

Luke Kenna, 43, who has a history of posting support of white supremacist groups and domestic terrorist manifestos online, was arrested during a traffic stop on November 26, court documents say.  

When Kenna was pulled over, police said they found he had a loaded “ghost gun''—an untraceable firearm usually built at home—tucked into his pants and wearing body armor. He was charged with being in possession of a loaded firearm, the unlawful wearing of body armor, and driving without a license. 

The court documents did not indicate exactly what led to Kenna being pulled over but he has also been charged with one count of having insufficient tail lights. According to court documents, he has pleaded not guilty to all the charges. 

Online articles from anti-fascist researchers have highlighted numerous neo-Nazi links to  Kenna. On some of his publicly available Instagram posts viewed by VICE News, the man has the sonnenrad (a runic symbol popular with modern neo-Nazis) proudly featured multiple times, a German Imperial flag, and other images such as a person with a Totenkopf  (the death’s head symbol popular in Nazi Germany) for a head riding a surfboard with a sonnenrad and the words “surf the kali yuga” a term popular with esoteric neo-Nazis. 

Kenna also appears to be connected to the Wolves of Vinland, a group that has been described by the SPLC as a Neo-Volkisch hate group. Neo-Völkisch adherents base their spirituality on the survival of the European race and tend to lean into certain forms of paganism. This often involves runic symbols and rituals. Kenna ran a small business that sells weapons and offers tactical training. The runes can be seen in the name of Kenna’s company, which incorporates a runic symbol named after a god from Germanic mythology into its name. 

Kenna was prolific on social media, posting several times a day on a Telegram page he runs for his business. Just a week before his arrest he shared an article by Left Coast Right Watch,a left-leaning outlet focused on the far-right, about a neo-Nazi church (inside the article he is accused of being a member) as well the memoir of a domestic terrorist who killed several people in a series of bombing attacks. Kenna added no comment to the post accusing him of being a member of the neo-Nazi church. 

In one of his videos on YouTube, Kenna tells his followers they should practice drawing a knife on someone up to 1000 times a day. He explains if they can’t manage that they should at least do “88 of those things every single day” before doing a Nazi salute. The number 88 is a well known symbol in the neo-Nazi world and symbolizes “Heil Hitler,” as the eighth letter of the alphabet is “H.” 

Kenna expressed interest in Lyndon McLeod, a traditionalist author who killed five people in Denver in December 2021. McLeod was  involved in the Wolves of Vinland and even dedicated a chapter to them in the lengthy book he wrote where he foreshadowed his murders. On his last Instagram post, from January 5, 2022, Kenna disputed a lengthy article written by anti-fascist researchers following McLeod’s massacre.

“I know you think because I'm a writer and read some books from a guy who killed your friends, that I'm the next Charlie Manson. Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm not,” he wrote. 

"I know you say that I'm some ‘hyper masculine-neo nazi fascist- Esoteric Occultist’... I guess if you say so,” he added. “But I'm definitely not any more of a danger to the public than you are.”

VICE News reached out to Kenna’s lawyers but did not receive a response. The Gloversville Police Department likewise did not respond to a request for comment. According to court documents Kenna remains incarcerated. 

Experts with knowledge of these groups have long been worried about militant traditionalism networks like the Wolves of Vinland. Many in the networks yearn for an earlier time that rejects modernity and embraces spiritualism and violence as a natural state. Matthew Kriner, the managing director of the Accelerationism Research Consortium, told VICE News that groups like these “present a unique and persistent threat that can manifest in numerous ways.”

“Individuals can become involved and radicalized through multiple pathways with the organization, such as through its pagan Traditionalism, misogynistic worldviews, extreme fitness and martial arts, and more,” said Kriner. “(This) can produce highly radicalized individuals willing to take direct and violent action against law enforcement and those they deem ‘degenerate.’”

Kenna had not attempted to keep his connection to these groups private, nor do his online cohorts have any qualms about publicly mentioning his arrest. One online account openly called for support, saying Kenna is a “political prisoner.” Some are fundraising for the incarcerated man.

“They'll scoop anyone they deem a dissident these days,” wrote one supporter in reply to the call for action.