A former corporal with the Ohio Army National Guard wrote in a letter to a federal judge last week that he never intended to act on his admittedly “racist and ugly” online messages with other Guardsmen — which included posts about his desire to commit mass violence and specifically to attack Jews, Black people and women.

Thomas Develin, 25, of Columbus' Northwest Side, will face sentencing before that judge on illegal gun-related sales charges Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Columbus, then appear Tuesday afternoon to face different charges in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, where he is expected to plead and be sentenced.

In county court, Develin is charged with making terroristic threats, tampering with evidence and possessing dangerous ordnances (explosives or incendiary devices).

Come back to Dispatch.com later for updates from each court hearing.

Develin pleaded guilty in October in federal court to charges that he was illegally 3-D printing and selling guns without serial numbers as well as selling devices that can turn some guns into fully automatic machine guns between 2020 and when he was first arrested in March 2022.

Federal prosecutors are asking U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison to deviate higher than the federal sentencing guidelines, which advise the judge to give Develin about three to four years in prison. Prosecutors want to send Develin to prison for more than seven years.

Our previous coverage:Ex-Ohio Guardsman accused of threatening Jewish school pleads guilty to making machine guns

Prosecutors: Develin threatened to attack Jewish school, synagogues

Among other threats he made in a private online group chat filled with other Ohio Guardsmen, Develin posted multiple times about his desire to shoot up a Columbus Jewish school and two synagogues where he worked as a security guard, according to court documents in the federal case against Develin.

Among the posts in court documents:

In September 2021, Develin posted a photograph of the parking lot at an unidentified Columbus synagogue, writing that he was “having an inner debate that if an active shooter comes in I might just join him."

In January 2022, Develin posted a photo of the interior of Temple Beth Shalom synagogue in New Albany with the text, “the holocaust didn’t happen. If anything I’ll scream 6 million wasn’t enough.”

In March 2022, while assigned to guard the Columbus Torah Academy, Develin posted a photo of a gun in his lap and said, “I will shoot the next parent dropping their kid off at the school."

More from our previous coverage:Former Guardsman facing additional 'ghost gun' charges after threatening Columbus school

On another occasion, Develin posted a video of himself sniffing a rifle and saying, "this one smells like dead Jews."

On several occasions, Develin posted videos of himself pointing guns at unsuspecting people through a window, according to court documents.

When Columbus police searched Develin’s residence and car in March 2022, they seized 17 firearms, explosive components, and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, according to a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter Glenn-Applegate and Jessica Knight.

Develin had a particular obsession with the 2019 mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand, according to the sentencing memo. Copying that shooter, Develin wrote the same Islamophobic, xenophobic and white supremacist phrases on the magazine of one of his AR-style rifles as the Christchurch shooter did on his gun, prosecutors said.

Develin tells judge he was joking, never intended to carry out threats

In a letter to Judge Morrison ahead of his sentencing, Develin said he felt worthless after he returned from a deployment to Afghanistan from July 2017 to March 2018.

Develin said he was coping with depression, alcoholism and disillusionment with the military when he started discussing dark ideas and what he says was joking with military friends on a platform they thought was private.

“Our conversations spiraled out of control into an undeclared contest to see who could come up with the darkest or ugliest ideas. At no time did I ever intend on performing these disgusting ideas or sharing these thoughts with anyone other than the members of our private group,” Develin said in the letter. “Now that our discussions have been made public, I realize the shock, fright, and pain it has caused others.”

Develin said he does not intend to associate with this military “counterculture” post-sentence.

Develin said he became particularly depressed after the October 2021 suicide of a fellow Guardsman at a party. An investigation into this suicide is what led law enforcement to review the private Guardsmen chat. The military took Develin and others at the party off the roster for an upcoming deployment to Iraq, to Develin’s disappointment.

One other former Guardsman was charged for threats made in the online chat. James Ricky Meade II, 26, of Chesterhill, Morgan County, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in December to one count of inciting to violence.

Meade's guilty plea was for messaging in December 2021 with Develin about their desire to steal a plane and crash it into the Anheuser-Busch beer plant on Columbus' North Side. Meade got probation.

Related coverage:Former Guardsman who threatened to crash plane into Anheuser-Busch plant gets probation

Develin and Meade were discharged from the Ohio National Guard in August 2022. A spokesperson for the Ohio National Guard said Monday he wasn't sure if the pair were dishonorably discharged or not.

Days before his arrest in March 2022, Develin posted in the group chat that "if the military actually decides to ever crack down on extremists, they're going to have to kick at least half of us out," according to federal court records.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ex-Ohio Guardsman in 2 courts today for guns, threats of mass shooting