SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio man who attempted to destroy several 5G cell towers has been sentenced to over six years in prison, the Department of Justice said Thursday.
Court documents say Sean Aaron Smith, 30, tried to burn and destroy five towers between April 2021 and May 2022 when he was arrested during a traffic stop. In August of 2023 he pleaded guilty to six counts of arson affecting interstate and foreign commerce, and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. He had faced up to 5 years for each of the arson charges.
“My office will not tolerate attacks on our critical infrastructure seeking to shut down our cellular telephone system and endangering our citizens who need to use our 911 emergency systems,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas.
“An attack on the infrastructure of a community has the potential for devastating effects,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Doug Olson for the FBI San Antonio Division. “Sean Smith tried multiple times to burn cell phone towers down around San Antonio, in support of his anti-5G ideology. When he was caught, he had a handgun in his vehicle, despite his status as a convicted felon. We want to thank the San Antonio Fire Department Arson squad, FBI, San Antonio Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Texas Rangers for their continued assistance in keeping our communities safe.”
Court documents described Smith as having anti-government beliefs. Arsonists around the world who believe the baseless conspiracy theory that 5G cell towers cause coronavirus to spread set fire to hundreds of cell towers during the pandemic.