Marine Vet Pleads Guilty in Terror Plot
PHOTO CAPTION: U.S. Marines with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines conduct training at the Infantry Immersion Trainer at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in April 2023. Marine veteran Micah James Legnon pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to a terrorism conspiracy after prosecutors said he offered combat training to members of an extremist group. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Loriann Dauscher)
A Marine veteran and former Louisiana police officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal terrorism conspiracy after prosecutors said he offered to use his military experience to train members of an extremist group planning an explosive attack.
Micah James Legnon, 29, of New Iberia pleaded guilty Sept. 8 to conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists. The Justice Department announced the plea Wednesday.
According to court documents, Legnon joined a faction known as the Order of the Black Lotus in early 2025. Prosecutors described it as part of the Turtle Island Liberation Front and said members used encrypted communications while discussing improvised explosive devices and a planned attack on a logistics facility in California.
Federal prosecutors said Legnon understood the group's purpose and agreed to use his military tactical experience to help advance the planned attack.
Investigators said he discussed making improvised explosive devices and stored a photograph of an explosive device with instructions on his phone.
Legnon also offered to train other members in urban tactics, combat shooting and target accuracy, according to the Justice Department.
Authorities said he downloaded and stored material covering close-range combat, land navigation, patrolling, ambush tactics and demolition. Investigators also found rifles, SWAT and sniper-training manuals and other combat-related material at his home.
Legnon previously served as a Marine Corps infantry rifleman from 2015 to 2019, according to information the Marine Corps provided to Louisiana media after his arrest last year.
He deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean in 2017, reached the rank of corporal and was last assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He was honorably discharged before joining the New Iberia Police Department in 2019.
Legnon was originally arrested in December 2025 after federal investigators accused him of making threats against immigration officers.
At the time, agents said they intercepted him while he was traveling toward New Orleans with firearms, body armor and other tactical equipment. The new guilty plea involves the broader terrorism conspiracy described by prosecutors.
His sentencing and the formal acceptance of the plea agreement are scheduled for Dec. 11 before U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office.
Sources: U.S. Department of Justice; U.S. Marine Corps reporting via WVUE
(Source: OAF Nation)
