Convicted Felon and Militia Member Sentenced for Illegal Firearm Possession During Trip to Georgia
Joshua Colston, 50, of Corinth, Mississippi, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, by U.S. District Judge Leslie Gardner on August 15. Colston, a convicted felon and member of the anti-government extremist group National Constitutional Militia (NCM), had previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on October 18, 2023. Federal parole is not available.
Colston was apprehended by FBI agents in Fitzgerald, Georgia, on December 14, 2022. At the time, he was preparing to travel horseback across the country and had expressed plans to go “off the grid.” Agents discovered Colston in illegal possession of five firearms, including a 9mm semiautomatic pistol, a .40 semiautomatic pistol, a .22 semiautomatic rifle, a semiautomatic shotgun, and a .44 lever-action rifle, one of which was reported stolen. Colston also had a bulletproof vest and over 3,500 rounds of ammunition, including armor-piercing rounds, in his vehicle. The FBI suspected that Colston had training in explosives.
Colston, who has prior felony convictions in Texas for theft and criminal mischief, was involved in discussions on the encrypted chat application Zello about plans to kidnap or attack federal officials on Thanksgiving Day 2022. These plans were ultimately not pursued due to lack of resources and poor health among group members.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Ben Hill County Sheriff’s Office, with prosecution led by Deputy Criminal Chief Will Keyes and assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.
