TEWKSBURY — An 18-year-old Tewksbury resident allegedly linked to a fascist extremist organization, who investigators say idolized mass shooters, celebrated racist violence and made threatening statements online about killing President Trump was arrested after an FBI-led raid uncovered a handgun and ammunition in his bedroom.
A Tewksbury Police detective assigned as a task force officer with FBI Boston said in an incident report that Trenton Touch, who turned 18 in May, came to the attention of authorities through hundreds of pages of records provided by Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which flagged online content that appeared to contain threats of violence.
Police said the material included messages, videos and photographs in which Touch expressed extremist beliefs, reposted mass-shooting footage, discussed firearms and associated himself with the United Youth Club, a far-right group that has been described by watchdog organizations as a white nationalist and fascist youth organization.
According to the report, Meta provided a 488-page voluntary disclosure generated through threat-detection systems designed to identify potentially violent online activity. Investigators determined that Touch was associated with the United Youth Club and routinely operated various Instagram “spoof” accounts where he allegedly posted racist and violent content.
“Based on his messages and comments across various ‘spoof’ Instagram accounts, he believes that any non-white person should die including children,” the report states.
According to investigators, Touch also “idolizes mass shooters” and expressed support for the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks in New Zealand, where a gunman killed 51 people and injured dozens more during attacks at two mosques.
Police cited one message in which Touch allegedly stated, “All these nons deserve is more killings in their place of worship and their homes. There should be a Christchurch happening every single day of every single week. It should be constant death and misery for them.”
The report also alleges Touch made several comments involving violence toward public officials.
In one account, investigators said he posted, “im gonna kill trump” and later wrote, “not yet unc I suck at shooting past 200 yards.” In another exchange, he allegedly responded to another user by stating, “we need to kill politicians.”
Investigators further reported that Touch exchanged messages encouraging violence against minorities, including one message where he wrote, “Read Seige and kill ethnics.”
Throughout the investigation, police said Touch repeatedly posted photographs and videos depicting firearms that he claimed were in his possession despite not holding a Massachusetts firearms license. Among the images were a hunting rifle that he described as being “good up to 500 yards” and a revolver-style handgun.
The report states that Touch became frustrated over not receiving a Massachusetts Firearms Identification Card and suggested an alternative means of obtaining a firearm, allegedly writing, “ya ill just ask my grandparents to straw purchase one for me.”
Investigators noted that Touch frequently visited his grandparents in Atkinson, New Hampshire, discussed going to firing ranges with them, and shared videos of himself shooting firearms. Police noted that a straw purchase occurs when a legally eligible person buys a firearm on behalf of someone who is prohibited or otherwise unable to purchase one themselves.
According to the report, investigators reviewed thousands of messages, videos and photographs during the course of the investigation. Police said Touch frequently reposted and edited videos from mass shootings, including footage from the Christchurch attack and the 2022 supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10 people.
“Through the investigation, Trenton displays clear extremist ideologies and has clear access to firearms,” the report states.
Based on those findings, federal authorities obtained a search warrant for Touch’s home on Grasshopper Lane.
At approximately 6 a.m. Monday, FBI SWAT agents, FBI special agents, and Tewksbury detectives executed the warrant at the residence. Touch was detained and requested an attorney when agents attempted to interview him, according to the report, ending the questioning.
After the home was secured, members of the FBI Evidence Response Team began documenting the scene. Investigators reported finding the revolver previously depicted in Touch’s social media posts sitting unsecured in plain view on a bedroom desk. Five rounds of ammunition were also allegedly found in plain view on a nearby shelf.
A separate team conducted a consent search at his grandparents’ home in Atkinson, where investigators seized the rifle shown in photographs reviewed during the investigation. According to the report, Touch’s grandparents told authorities he did not have access to their firearms unless they were present and that the weapons had been legally purchased by his grandfather.
On Monday, Touch was arraigned in Lowell District Court on the charges of possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, and improper storage of a firearm.
Judge John Coffey ordered Touch held on $50,000 cash bail. If released, Touch must remain under GPS monitoring and home confinement. He was also ordered to not possess any firearms.
Touch is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Nov. 17.
His attorney, Jennifer O’Brien, declined to comment about the case.
Follow Aaron Curtis on X @aselahcurtis, or on Bluesky @aaronscurtis.bsky.social.
Original article
Comments