2 Veterans Tied to 'Nazi White Nationalist Efforts' Allegedly Stole Gear from Army Base, Beat Soldier with Hammer

An image taken from Joint Base Lewis-McChord surveillance footage depicts two men identified by the Army Criminal Investigations Division as suspects in an assault and robbery in the 75th Ranger Central Operations Facility on June 1, 2025, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Army Criminal Investigations Division via AP)

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State and federal police arrested Charles Ethan Fields and Levi Austin Frakes after executing a warrant Monday for alleged assault, robbery and theft of government property, according to the complaint shared with Military.com by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Washington.

Prosecutors say Fields and Frakes entered Joint Base Lewis-McChord on Sunday evening through the main gate and made their way to a facility used by Charlie Company, 75th Ranger Regiment. Dressed in Ranger fitness training attire and wearing masks, the pair allegedly stole military gear after bludgeoning a soldier with a hammer and fleeing the scene.

Before being attacked, the soldier, who was not identified in court documents, confronted the veterans, who were in the process of stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of ballistic helmets, rifle plates and communications equipment.

As the soldier was questioning the pair, ordering them to remove their masks, one of them attacked him, striking him in the head and torso with a hammer. The soldier fought off the attacker, taking the hammer, but "surrendered" as the other assailant was brandishing a knife, according to court records.

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Images from a federal complaint filed Wednesday show Nazi paraphernalia and military gear following a law enforcement raid. Charles Ethan Fields and Levi Austin Frakes, two veterans, were arrested and accused of assault, robbery and theft of government property.

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https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/06/04/2-veterans-tied-nazi-white-nationalist-efforts-allegedly-stole-gear-army-base-beat-soldier-hammer.html