Jordan Derrick (known online as Dugan Ashley or from the YouTube channel CarniK Con), age 40, was charged in a federal criminal complaint on May 12 in the Western District of Missouri. Authorities charged him with engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license, unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device, and distributing information relating to the manufacture of explosives.
Derrick was a well-known figure in the firearms, reloading, and “guntuber” communities. He ran a channel called CarniK Con before leaving YouTube on March 27, 2015 (the CarniK Con channel was removed on September 7, 2017).
“Pulling the plug on CarniK Con, effective immediately,” Derrick wrote on Facebook. “Leaving Soc. Med. up, am available for hired work, [email removed]. May or may not upload the most recent video to YT at some point, but won’t be making new posts. This is probably the last one. #out”
CarniK Con is widely considered to be one of the first successful YouTube channels for gun content. He returned to YouTube a few years later, launching a podcast called Dark Light Dugan with co-hosts Dark Mavis and Light. He later left the podcast, and the YouTube channel continued with only the remaining host, Dark Mavis, before rebranding as DLD After Dark.
On September 18, 2023, he launched another YouTube channel and various other social media accounts, where he explained explosives and showed how to make them. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, these explosive materials included detonators, nickel aminoguanidine perchlorate (NAP), ethylene glycol dinitrate (EGDN), hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD), hexamine dinitrate (HDN), Research Department eXplosive (RDX), silver acetylide double salt (SADS), trinitroxylene (TNX or R-salt), trinitrotoluene (TNT), pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), aminoguanidine bicarbonate, and ammonium nitrate/nitromethane (ANNM).
One of the people who allegedly found his videos and used them to build explosives was Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar. Mr. Jabbar carried out an Islamist domestic terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, on New Year’s Day. Fortunately, the terrorist’s explosives did not detonate. Earlier this year, another explosion occurred at a private residence in Odessa, Missouri. The occupant of the residence told investigators that he used Derrick’s videos to make the explosives. That investigation is still ongoing.
The charges against Derrick have raised some eyebrows. He was charged with engaging in the business of manufacturing explosive materials without a license.
Commentators note that Derrick did not charge for any information on explosives. His social media platforms were not monetized, and he had no sponsors, leading many to wonder how he could be engaged in a “business” that involved no money. If convicted, this charge alone could send Derrick to federal prison for 10 years.
The second charge is unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device. The type of device has not been disclosed. This charge could also carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The final charge is the most troubling. Mr. Derrick was charged with distributing information relating to the manufacture of explosives under 18 U.S.C. § 842(p). This law prohibits teaching, demonstrating, or distributing information on how to make or use explosives, destructive devices, or weapons of mass destruction under two conditions:
- Intent: If the person distributing the information intends for it to be used to commit a federal crime of violence.
- Knowledge: If the distributor knows that the recipient intends to use the information to commit a federal crime of violence.
The government will have a hard time proving “intent.” Derrick’s videos were very scientific and never called for violence. He covered the chemistry of the explosives but did not discuss their use in committing crimes. It is also unlikely that Derrick had any knowledge of Jabbar’s planned attack. If convicted on this charge, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
The last charge also raises serious First Amendment concerns. These types of recipes have long been available in local libraries through books like The Anarchist Cookbook, which can still be purchased on Amazon or downloaded via the Kindle app. Some observers believe this charge could be a trumped-up allegation used to pressure Derrick into a plea agreement.
If Mr. Derrick is convicted on all charges, he might not survive prison. He suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS), and the government would force him to leave his wife and children to fend for themselves. Friends of Derrick have launched a GiveSendGo campaign to support his legal defense fund. At the time of writing, the campaign has raised $16,000 of its $30,000 goal.
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About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @right2bear, or at www.crumpy.com.
