Complaint details plot to obtain lethal dose of radioactive material

MADISON (WKOW) — A federal judge on Thursday ordered a Town of Madison man to be held until a probable cause hearing Monday.

Jeremy Ryan, 30, faces a federal charge for trying to buy radioactive material with the intent to kill someone, according to a criminal complaint.

Ryan is a former Congressional candidate who ran in the primary against Rep. Paul Ryan in 2014 and 2018.

He also was a familiar face at the 2011 Act 10 protests at the Wisconsin Capitol where he was known as “Segway Jeremy” because he was regularly seen on one of the motorized vehicles.

The FBI says that in March and October 2018, Ryan tried to buy a lethal dose of a radioactive substance on the Internet.

Investigators did not identify Ryan’s alleged target.

Agents arrested Ryan in Black Earth on Wednesday, Oct. 24. After the arrest, FBI agents searched Ryan’s home in the 300 block of Munn Road.

The FBI says Ryan is charged with attempted possession of radioactive material with intent to cause death. The charge carries a maximum term of life in prison.

Ryan apparently accessed a website that advertises the sale of various illegal products, including drugs, counterfeit goods and weapons, according to the complaint.

An FBI covert agent who was posing as a seller on the website received a message March 16 for a user they later identified as Ryan inquiring about radioactive substances for sale.

“How much is included?” the message states. “And would it get to the US in time to still have time before half life?”

Ryan later asked the agent, “How long would it take the poison to kill someone after ingested? I’m looking for something that’s very rare/difficult to get a hold of.

“Also that doesn’t show symptoms immediately but kills them fairly soon after. Preferably something that is not going to be extremely brutal and drawn out.

“But the main quality is that it is extremely difficult to procure so that people automatically suspect the government. Do you have something other than the (radioactive substance) that would be like that and also safe to ship?”

The complaint states Ryan placed an order for the material on Oct. 8, which cost 0.086018 bitcoin, or about $569.

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A former political candidate is accused of trying to buy a lethal dose of a radioactive substance via the internet to kill an unnamed individual, according to the FBI.

Jeremy Ryan, 30, was arrested Wednesday in Black Earth, Wisconsin, and has been charged with attempted possession of radioactive material with intent to cause death.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Court documents allege that in March and October 2018, Ryan attempted to purchase the radioactive substance.

A search warrant was executed Wednesday at his residence in the 300 block of Munn Road by FBI Milwaukee agents and the FBI Chicago’s Hazardous Evidence Response Team.

Ryan was running for Paul Ryan’s 1st Congressional District seat this summer. His campaign ad heavily focused on the legalization of medical marijuana and described Jeremy Ryan as someone who smokes weed, drinks alcohol and curses. He called himself “a regular person.”