Star Tribune
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 in 2021, landed Dayton Sauke in federal prison for the first time.
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 his hands back on that shotgun while making efforts to build his own firearms. All the while, probation officials added, Sauke hasn’t let up on espousing interests in 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 reentry center last year. He soon racked up violations there that spurred an initial return to court in July 2023 that included testimony that Sauke made references to the Oklahoma City bombing and expressed suicidal ideations. Brasel updated Sauke’s supervised release conditions at the time to include new restrictions on his internet use and access to materials deemed to be “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 ideations. 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 Securities 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 between Sauke and his sister and significant other showing at least two requests 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 (ATF). 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 anti-government 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 Minnesota 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 gained work as an electrician and completed in-patient and successful 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.
Star Tribune staff writer Paul Walsh contributed to this report.
“This is an area that swings back and forth depending on the election cycle, and it’s an area that really can deliver those decisive votes for candidates in a statewide election,” said Anthony Chergosky, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political science professor. “If the Harris-Walz ticket can develop a brand that helps them stop the party’s slide in rural Wisconsin, then that will massively help their path to victory.”
Both presidential campaigns have spent considerable time in Wisconsin. Trump recently visited the state four times in a span of eight days. Harris held rallies in La Crosse and Green Bay earlier this month, and Walz made stops in Eau Claire, Green Bay and Madison. Walz told a crowd gathered at a “Students for Harris-Walz” event in Eau Claire that “it’s very realistic to believe that this race will be won going through Wisconsin.”
Though both campaigns have made frequent visits to the Badger State, their stops appear to be geared toward shoring up their respective bases, retired GOP strategist Brandon Scholz said.
“I think Tim Walz’s job right now in Wisconsin, from what he’s saying and where he’s going and what he’s doing, is, ‘let’s make sure 99 percent of our voters turn out, because we need every single one of them because of how close Wisconsin is,’” Scholz said. “To date, neither he nor Harris have communicated a message to bring in those undecideds, ticket splitters.”
Ryan O’Gara is one of those undecideds. The 47-year-old Christian conservative lives in the village of Downing, some 20 miles northwest of Menomonie and home to about 230 people. O’Gara said he sees mostly Trump signs around his town, but he isn’t a fan of either nominee and likely will sit out this election.
Asked what he thought of Walz, O’Gara referred to him as “far-left.” He said he disagrees with allowing gender-affirming health care services for minors. Walz signed a bill into law last year making Minnesota a refuge for people seeking gender-affirming care.
But then, they were Lutherans.
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“It’s time for a hostage deal and cease-fire that ensures Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” Walz said on this year’s anniversary of Hamas’ 2023 attacks on Israel.
Polls indicate Minnesota will likely break for Harris, but in states where margins will be much tighter, some protest voters are choosing to vote for Harris despite their reservations.
Roman Fritz of Oconomowoc, Wis., voted early for Harris on Wednesday, he said, even though he remains deeply frustrated with her stance on the war.
Neither he nor Engelhart want to see Trump win. The Uncommitted National Movement has been trying to carve out a middle ground between opposing Trump and supporting Harris, with leaders saying a Trump presidency would be worse for Palestinians, and warning that votes for third-party candidates could result in a win for Trump. But the group declined to offer its endorsement to Harris.
Similarly, Fritz said, he did not feel he should talk his friends into voting for Harris, especially Palestinian American friends who have lost loved ones in Gaza.
“I do want her to win,” Fritz said, but, “I’m not going to campaign for her.”
