Jonathan Wienke Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Former Homeland Security Analyst Appeals Gun Silencer Case

A former analyst for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has filed an appeal after being sentenced to 1 ½ years in federal prison for making a gun silencer in his home.

Forty-six-year-old Jonathan L. Wienke pleaded guilty to one count of violating the National Firearms Act. He had been found in possession of a loaded .22-caliber revolver at his workplace in Washington last year, prompting federal officials to search his West Virginia home.

The appeal was filed Monday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Krasinski told the court that a federal agent deemed Wienke’s silencer to be “the most effective silencer that he had ever seen.”

Assistant federal public defender Nicholas J. Compton told the court the silencer was intended for use at a firing range.

Wienke has moved to Pennsylvania and remains free on bond, pending appeal.

Ex-Government Analyst Sentenced to Prison on Firearm Charge

A former analyst for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been sentenced to a year and a half in federal prison for making a gun silencer at his home.

Jonathan L. Wienke had reached a plea deal in December, pleading guilty to one count of violating the National Firearms Act, news outlets report.

The 46-year-old was indicted on seven charges after he was found in possession of a loaded .22-caliber revolver at his government workplace in Washington, D.C., in 2016, prompting federal officials to search his West Virginia home. The remaining charges were dismissed in the plea deal, which includes two years’ supervised release after his time in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Krasinski told the court a federal agent deemed Wienke’s silencer to be “the most effective silencer that he had ever seen,” and that Wienke’s social media indicated he was well aware of tax and licensing regulations for firearm manufacturing. Security officers at the government workplace found a folding knife, handheld radio-communication devices, pepper spray labeled for use by law enforcement, handcuffs, an infrared camera and a device to test blood-alcohol levels in Wienke’s backpack.

However, the government found no evidence of terrorist intentions, assistant federal public defender Nicholas J. Compton told the court. Compton highlighted Wienke’s lack of criminal history and military service, which included a deployment to Iraq and a medical discharge. He said the silencer was intended for use at a firing range. Wienke, who was subsequently fired, had a top-secret clearance.

He has moved to Pennsylvania and remains free on bond, pending appeal.

Homeland Security Analyst Says He Forgot He Had Pistol

A Department of Homeland Security analyst says he forgot he had a pistol in his pocket when he brought it into his agency’s Washington headquarters.

Credit David Dishneau / Associated Press

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A federal court filing by Jonathan Wienke says that in June, a random search of his backpack resulted in authorities confiscating his handcuffs, pocket knife and pepper spray. Wienke was also carrying walkie talkies and an infrared camera, which he placed in a locker. The filing says authorities found the gun while searching him at his workspace.

Wienke contends that authorities subsequently illegally searched his Martinsburg home.

Previous court filings say ingredients for explosives and gun silencers were found at the home.

Wienke has pleaded not guilty to illegal firearms-related charges.

In July, the department’s chief security officer told a congressional subcommittee there’s “no indication” Wienke planned workplace violence.

Feds: DHS Analyst Had Parts for Explosives at Home

Court documents say a Department of Homeland Security employee who entered his agency’s Washington headquarters with a gun and other weapons kept ingredients for explosives at home.

A document detailing a search of Jonathan Wienke’s Martinsburg home was unsealed Tuesday.

It says authorities found plastic pipes, glue, tools and boxes of magnesium shavings, thermite and oxidizers. In the filing, a federal agent determined the items could make explosives.

Wienke has pleaded not guilty to illegal firearms-related charges. He was released late last month without bond.

Previous filings allege Wienke carried a backpack with a gun, knife, infrared camera, pepper spray and handcuffs into his agency’s building on June 9.

Last month, the department’s chief security officer told a House Homeland Security subcommittee there’s “no indication” Wienke planned workplace violence.

Wienke’s public defender declined to comment.

Homeland Security Searched W.Va. Home For Weapons

Agents who searched the West Virginia home of a federal homeland security colleague after he was discovered at work with a gun and knife told a magistrate judge that they would look for other weapons, “lists or notes of potential targets” and written evidence of any potential co-conspirators.

The list of items agents were looking for at the Martinsburg home of Jonathan Wienke was filed in federal court in West Virginia. Wienke was arrested June 9 at the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington on a gun charge. He is not in custody.

It’s not known yet what the agents found in the subsequent search of his home, but in justifying their search, they told the court that they had probable cause to believe Wienke “was conspiring with another to commit workplace violence, and more particularly may have been conspiring or planning to commit violence against senior DHS officials in the building.”