Child pornography was discovered on a computer belonging to the 88-year-old white supremacist accused of gunning down a guard at the Holocaust museum, the FBI said in court documents.
James von Brunn remains hospitalized, but federal investigators have continued their search for details of the events leading up to the shooting death of 39-year-old Stephen Johns as he held a museum door open for his killer, officials said.
FBI agents have executed a search warrant on the Annapolis apartment von Brunn shared with his son and son’s fiancé, documents filed in federal court said. Inside, FBI agents found four computers, a 30-30 rifle and the weapon’s ammunition.
When investigators performed a cursory search of one desktop computer, they discovered child pornography, an FBI agent said in a sworn statement. The agent filed the statement as part of a request for a search warrant that would allow a more thorough examination of the computer. The agent did not provide any details on the quantity or types of images.
Von Brunn has been charged with murder and could face the death penalty. When von Brunn allegedly fired a rifle into Johns’ chest on June 10, two other museum guards returned fire, striking
von Brunn in the face, officials said.
The FBI has said von Brunn is expected to recover. Earlier this week, a judge ruled von Brunn was in no condition to appear in court, and initial hearings have been delayed until he’s healthy.
According to charging documents, von Brunn left a note found in the red Hyundai he parked outside the museum before walking quickly to the door, rifle at his side. The note reflects von Brunn’s views that espouse hatred against the Jews.
“Jews captured America’s money,” the note said. “Jews control the mass media.”
In court documents, investigators said they also found in the car a business card for a Web site that claims the USS Liberty was sunk purposefully by Israeli forces. The research ship sunk off Israel’s coast June 8, 1967, in the midst of the Six Day War. June 10, the day of the museum attack, was also the 42nd anniversary of the end of the Six Day War.
