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Jacksonville man sentenced for firearm charge after prosecutors say he threatened shooting at mosque

Court documents show Bernandino Bolatete was planning a mass shooting at a Jacksonville mosque.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A judge sentenced a Jacksonville man to five years in federal prison for possession of an unregistered firearms silencer.

Court documents suggest Bernandino Bolatete was planning a mass shooting at a Jacksonville mosque.

A source told police that Bolatete expressed strong anti-Islamic sentiment, including how he wanted to conduct a mass shooting at the Islamic Center of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In May, Bolatete was found guilty of the firearm charge.

Previous: Jacksonville man found guilty of firearm charge after threatening shooting at mosque

Bolatete was arrested on Dec. 1, 2017, after an undercover detective sold him an unregistered silencer for $100.

Prosecutors say, after his arrest, Bolatete admitted that he had possessed the unregistered silencer but claimed that he had purchased it for hunting.

When FBI agents searched his home and car, they found firearms and ammunition, including the specific firearms that Bolatete had told the undercover detective that he would use to conduct the mass shooting at the mosque.

An undercover officer also learned Bolatete had a kidney problem and didn’t plan to survive the mass shooting, the DOJ said.

Related: Florida man arrested for plotting mass shooting at Islamic Center, FBI says

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