Feds: Owatonna man who threatened to kill police at Capitol tried to get shotgun back, build new guns

An illegally possessed shotgun and posts about killing law enforcement amid armed protests at the Minnesota Capitol landed Dayton Sauke a federal prison sentence in January 2022.

Now, the 25-year-old Owatonna man is being sent back to prison after authorities recently caught him trying to traffic drugs purchased on the dark web, and attempting to get that shotgun back and to build his own firearms. All the while, probation officials added, Sauke has continued expressing support for violent extremist causes.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel on Tuesday sentenced Sauke to two years in federal prison and another year of supervised release after federal probation officers outlined a litany of recent violations to the terms of his original sentence.

Sauke served part of his original 30-month sentence in prison before transitioning to a residential re-entry center last year. He soon racked up violations there that spurred an initial return to court in July 2023. Brasel updated Sauke’s supervised release conditions at the time to include new restrictions on his internet use and access to materials deemed “extremist.”

According to court filings, senior probation officer Brian James testified in July 2023 that Sauke made references to the Oklahoma City bombing and expressed suicidal ideation. Earlier this month, James testified that law enforcement found images on Sauke’s phone of an “apparent Nazi youth saluting with an apparent swastika flag,” and a “Pepe the frog” cartoon holding an assault rifle — a meme commonly associated with white supremacist groups and movements.

James also testified that Sauke’s cellphone had a downloaded picture of someone convicted of a felony holding a gun and wearing garb with some insignia identifying the person as a “Boogaloo Boi.”

Federal authorities arrested Sauke this month after Homeland Security Investigations agents seized a package containing 259 grams of MDMA, or ecstasy, that had been mailed from the United Kingdom to Sauke in February. He was also accused of lying to his probation officer about restricted internet use, and unauthorized communications with a known felon regarding drug sales and prices.

Messages were left seeking comment from Sauke’s attorney. In court Tuesday, Sauke admitted to the violations before being sentenced to the new prison term.

According to testimony, investigators also uncovered text messages Sauke sent seeking to have his seized shotgun returned to him. Sauke also downloaded a guide to build privately made firearms and allegedly entered into a layaway agreement to buy a machine for that purpose last year.

He asked his sister for a laptop, impact drill, Dremel power tool and his shotgun in December, and followed up on Feb. 9, 2024, with a message indicating that he received the laptop, impact drill and Dremel.

Later that morning, he texted his sister: “Well you just gave me all the power tools I need to build guns again.”

In a previous Feb. 5 text exchange regarding his shotgun, Sauke referred to “possibly blowing someone’s head off,” according to court documents.

Sauke was first arrested in 2021 after selling an illegal firearm to two undercover agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The ATF began monitoring Sauke in 2020 after a confidential informant said he posted on social media about manufacturing and selling guns.

Agents discovered many social media posts reflecting antigovernment extremist sentiments similar to the Boogaloo Bois. According to court records. Sauke posted on Snapchat and his public-facing Instagram page photos of himself holding guns alongside far-right sentiments and expressions of a desire to kill someone, namely a police officer or politician.

On Jan. 12, 2021, as plans circulated for armed rallies at the state Capitol to protest the results of the presidential election, Sauke began to post more about killing law enforcement there, and appeared to urge others to do the same. Three days later, he met the ATF agents in a Walmart parking lot in Fari­bault. Both posed as potential customers interested in buying guns. He sold one of the agents a gun for $1,500, and they paid him another $900 after negotiating another sale.

Sauke told the agents he sold 120 firearms in 2020, according to the charges, and he showed them pictures of other guns on his cellphone. After arresting him, the agents saw the sawed-off shotgun in his car next to ammunition.

According to court records, Sauke found work as an electrician and completed in-patient and outpatient phases of a residential dual-diagnosis treatment program while on supervised release under his original sentence. He was living in St. Paul sober housing from October 2023 until his arrest this month.

Most of the violations cited by the government took place while he was unemployed, from late December 2023 to mid-February 2024, prosecutors said. Brasel commended Sauke on his ability to find work and complete some treatment, but ultimately found that her concerns about public safety and his intent to keep committing crimes outweighed those factors.

Star Tribune staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.