Oregon Man Steals Machine Gun From Boss, Faces Federal Charges

A man faces federal weapons charges after admitting he took a .50 caliber Browning machine gun from his boss's work, then filed off the serial numbers. But it gets weirder from there.

The Oregonian reports Michael R. Emry, 54, of John Day, OR, works as a welder in Crescent OR at a company that works on heavy equipment and hydraulics.

He described himself as a "embedded journalist" during the Malheur Wildlife Standoff that ended with the fatal shooting LeVoy Finnicum. Emry, who has no criminal backround except for once writing a bad check, moved from Idaho to Grant County Oregon in March. Prior to that he and his wife had traveled to the area where the standoff occurred.

Authorities say he was arrested in May after a search of a travel trailer serving as his home turned up the Browning M2 machine gun. Emry, who moved to Oregon with his wife, admitted stealing the gun from his former Boise employer, and to grinding down the serial number used to track the weapon. He then took it with him to Oregon.

Authorities say Emry planned to take the weapon to the Malheur Standoff during the winter, before he moved to take his new welding job.  What he was going to do with it was not revealed by the FBI. Emry apparently had traveled to the Malheur area during the winter standoff, and was reportedly posting news and information about the incident online.

He's asked his attorney to release him prior to his trial on the weapons charges. His attorney says he was not part of the standoff, and played no role in the controversial incident.