Guns, Ammo Seized From Illinois Teen Seen Wearing Neo-Nazi Gear

VERNON HILLS, IL — A Vernon Hills 19-year-old with no valid FOID card faces weapons charges after local police assisted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in seizing five guns and ammunition from his home. Police said the ATF was acting on an anonymous tip after Jakub Zak was spotted wearing gear promoting a Texas-based white supremacist, Neo-Nazi group. The tip also referenced Zak's interest in guns, according to Vernon Hills police. Several firearms, four boxes of ammunition, several firearm parts and empty firearm magazines were found at the 19-year-old's home.

On April 7, the ATF notified local police that it had received a tip regarding Zak, who was seen on the campus of the College of Lake County wearing a T-shirt promoting the racist, anti-Semitic Patriot Front, a "far right splinter group born from the fallout over Charlottesville," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The tip also noted that Zak was in possession of firearms and ammunition, according to Vernon Hills police.

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On April 12, Vernon Hills investigators assisted a College of Lake County Police Officer and ATF agents at Zak's home. Police said the 19-year-old and his father were home at the time of the search.

Five semi-automatic guns were found in the home, according to the Chicago Tribune. Police said no one in the home possessed a valid FOID card.

Zak, who consented to relinquishing the weapons and ammunition to police, is charged with possession of a firearm and ammunition without a FOID card, police said. Both charges are misdemeanors, and Zak was released after posting $150 cash bond.

He is due in court May 17 in Waukegan.

Police said the recovered weapons have been sent to the state crime lab for analysis and investigators do not believe they were used in any crime other than the FOID violations.

Image via Vernon Hills Police Department